Storm Rising
by Juggerpony
Summary: Part 2 to the Story, Into the Mineshaft. Joey Aucleir, an Assassin, was abducted by a group known only as the Oberherr, and was brought to Equestria. Can these ponies teach him to come out of his shell of isolation, and maybe even love? Will intertwine with Into the Mineshaft, so prepare for the return of Mineral Flare and Breaker! Woohoo!
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**Unknown Area**

**Unknown Time**

**Joseph 'Joey' Aucleir, Assassin**

**_Splash!_**

I remembered that day like it was yesterday. My parents, Achille and Nina Aucleir, were political people, living in central France, living outside the city of Paris. They cared about Paris, and about its people. Until that day.

July 13, 2014, they were accused of treason against the French Government. I was getting ready to go to college, to get a live with true meaning, and to follow in my parents footsteps. Until our house got raided. French Soldiers came in and took them away, escorting them by truck to France. I watched from a distance, and watched as false witnesses stepped forward, accusing my parents, whom I had known my entire life, of extortion, treason, and fraud. None of these were true, but I was too scared to speak up.

To defend my own parents.

_**Splash!**_

My Parents political rival stood on testimony, and it was over. My Parents were to be executed. I tried to get to them, but the crowd of French Troops pushed me down. "Go back to school!" They would yell to me. The next morning, after an unfitting night, I tried one last time to rescue my parents. But I couldn't make my voice work.

I watched through iron bars, as a squad of troopers came. My parents were lined up with several other men, whom I recognized as co-workers and mentors to my parents. They were all good people, I wanted to shout. Finally, my voice came and I shouted.

But it was obscured by the sound of the Execution Squads guns.

_**Splash!**_

Shot after shot, they all fell. I cried, and wouldn't stop. When people would ask why I was crying in the middle of the street, I wouldn't tell them. I would keep on doing so. That was when he showed up. A man in a black suit, who I always saw with my parents political enemy, approach me, with two armed men. They tried to kill me, luring me into an alley and trying to kill me. I vowed that day, as I stood over the men's dead corpses, that I would avenge my Parents deaths.

And I wouldn't stop until I was dead.

* * *

_**Splash!**_

I was snapped out of my memory as my head was pulled once again out of the ice cold water, a mix of Foreign Languages screaming at me. "Make sure he stays awake! I want him ready with the others for the next test!" A German accented voice said above me. I had a bag over my head, and I felt disoriented. My face was numb after being shoved into the ice water for the past ten minutes.

The bag was removed from my head, and I barley flinched as the disorienting lights hit my face. It was like I had been hit by a flash bang, hearing a high pitched noise, barely seeing anything other than the bright light above me. Then, when I regained my bearings, I saw the room around me. It was a concrete room, that at one point could have been a Laundry or generator room.

4 men were in the room, 3 armed with guns, and one holding what looked like a syringe. He turned to me and smiled wickedly. "Ah, the Assassin is awake. How are you feeling?" I didn't answer, just giving him a steely glare of malice. His smile faded, and he swiped his hand in the air. "Take him to the others, so that they can proceed with the experiments."

Lifting me from my chair, the two armed guards lead me to the door, which in turn lead to a huge crevice in the side of a mountain, which reminded me of a volcano entrance. It has been 4 years since the execution of my parents. I went in search of the one who was responsible, and came up with nothing. That was, until a month ago. With the help of 10 Mercenaries from America, I stumbled upon a clue in Afghanistan, which lead to a group of individuals who called themselves the Oberherr.

We were captured, tortured, and beaten. About a week ago, a man in a black blazer, who looked awfully familiar to me, came and brought us through a machine, which lead to even more tortures. 4 of the Mercenaries had died already, and the rest of us were coming pretty close to joining them.

I was once again jolted out of my thoughts as the guard pushed me into another building. There were about 20 buildings in this town, most used as a barracks for these Oberherr troops. I was pushed to the ground next to one of the Mercenaries, a man named Javier. He was old for a Merc, being 45 years of age, with a white beard connected to sideburns, and big muscled arms. He looked worse than the last time I had seen him. His face was covered with blisters and scars, and even a large bump on his head.

He turned to me and said, "You look like sh*t." I turned back to him and nodded back at him. "Touché." I replied. Javier began to chuckle, which was quickly interrupted by a fit of coughing. "So, what do you think will happen now? They already took Jason into the other room." I shrugged, shaking my head at him. Then, the door was thrown open, and there stood Jason, a glazed look in his eyes.

I took note of the syringe mark in his neck. Then, he collapsed on the spot. Javier tried to crawl over to him, but quickly stopped as a guard kicked him hard in his side. "Get back in place!" The guard yelled at him, making Javier whimper in pain. Then, 2 of the Oberherr soldiers picked me up by my shoulders and took me into the next room. It was spacious, surrounded by a radiation proof glass and concrete. I was strapped into a machine that looked like a body cast, surrounding my body pretty tightly.

Needles were injected into my arms and legs. I breathed in deeply. I realized I wasn't super human, and that I would probably die from this, like Jason. A loud voice rose over the intercom, most likely for recorders of the data. "This is Test #139 on Mineral 599. Catalyst recorded with shall be substance #24. Is the patient ready?" Some men in hazmat suits gave a thumbs up to the northern wall, which I now realized must have a hidden room, like Police Interrogation rooms have. Them, a loud noise echoed throughout the room, like the power was just coming on.

On one side of me, a blue and green liquid was being injected into me. The other side was injecting more of a yellow liquid. I arched my back as I felt them mix and collide in my blood stream. Then, as soon as the pain was there, it stopped. I opened my eyes and looked around. The hazmat men were talking amongst themselves. "What happened?" The intercom man said. One of the hazmat men faced the wall. "I don't know, sir. Nothing seemed to happen, at least not physically."

The intercom man responded, "I am coming down to help with a full body scanner." I looked around the room, weighing my options. The restraints on the machine were not that thick, and I could easily break out of them. The man in the hidden room left, though I am now wondering if there are any more men. There were only 5 hazmat men, unarmed for the most part, standing 10 feet away. I could easily take them out. I chose that. Better to escape than to be a test subject to the Oberherr. Plus, I had to get back on the road to discovering who framed my parents, before the trail got too stale.

I slowly tugged off my restraints, so that the only thing holding my back were the needles. Then, a man entered the room, who I assumed was the intercom man. He approached me with a small device, putting it to my forehead. "Incredible!" he whispered, and that was the last thing he would mutter for a while. My bottom legs kicked up, hitting him square in the jaw. Ripping the needles out, I pounced on the next hazmat man, who went down in a groan. 2 of the hazmat men charged me, one with a needle and one with a scalpel. I rolled underneath one, making him trip and fall onto his needle. There must have been a sleeping agent in the syringe, because he was asleep in an instant.

Then the man with the scalpel charged, trying to swipe at me. Catching his hand, I head butted him, sending him to the floor. The last remaining Hazmat was running for the Emergency lever in the wall. Taking the scalpel, I flinged it at him. A second later, the man was on the ground, the scalpel protruding from his back. I went over to the closest hazmat and cut his ID card off of his body.

I then headed for the door, which I unlocked with set key card. There were only 2 guards together in the room. They barely had time to register what was happening when I kicked the guns out of there hands. One tried running for the gun, which I quickly retaliated by kneeing him in the face. The other charged me with a knife in hand. I picked up one of the chairs, hitting him so hard with it that it splintered and broke. The guard groaned on the ground before finally passing out. I went over to the tied up Mercenaries, untying them and pointing them to the guns.

The 4 Mercenaries were able to get 2 UMPs and 2 colt pistols, all guns full on ammo. Javier took command at that point. "We need to get out of here without drawing to much attention." He whispered to us as a patrol passed the door. "I don't think the 5 of us could blast our way out." One of the smaller Mercenaries spoke up next. "There is a cliff not far from here, that leads to a fall down the mountain. We could try and escape there." Javier put his hand on the boys shoulder, smiling to himself.

"Excellent plan. Joey, you have any objections?" None that I would say aloud. I shook my head, to which Javier nodded at. Alright, lets go out through the back door." We all silently made our way over to the other end of the building. I saw the door to the hidden room and quickly went inside. I went over to the computer and studied it. Hundreds of files were on it, of the different tests and what not. With a quick scramble of keys, the screen turned red, a progress bar appeared, and bellow that was a sign that read **'Deleting Files'**.

I sneaked out of the room and followed the other 4 men. We came to the door and went outside. It was close to night, and the sun was dawning in the distance. I took the lead ahead of them, and we slowly made our way towards the edge of the crater in the mountain. We approached the edge of the town, when Javier cursed, pulling the Mercs back. Ahead of us, a small patrol of 3 Oberherr soldiers were walking towards us. They wore black armor, with a hoodie and a black gas mask covering there faces. Being silent, I went behind the final one.

I quickly put my hands around his neck and turned, snapping it. Then I advanced on one of the two other guards. I did a high kick, sending one to the ground, and when the other one turned, I punched him in the gut. He groaned and hunched over from the blow, in which I brought my knee up, hitting him in the face. The other patrol trooper was trying to stand up, when I brought my foot down on his face.

Then I bent over and pulled a circular device out of his ear. And earpiece. I put it into my ear. Might as well hear what is happening in the base. Then, it happened.

Following the 3 man patrol, followed a second one, also 3 man. One of the men screamed a warning. I got into a defensive position, and the mercenaries lifted there weapons. That was when a loud roar hit my ears. One of the patrol troopers turned and screamed, "Dragon!" Right before he and his squad was engulfed in a fireball.

Sure enough, over 20 dragons came over the mountain range, descending on the camp. Screams and shouts rose up, as everyone got into defensive positions. The earpiece was screaming in my ear, a warning telling everyone to get into position and to start firing on the beasts. Then, a voice came over the earpiece that made my blood run cold.

"The Prisoners have escaped! I repeat, the prisoners have escaped." I turned towards Javier, who could tell by my facial expression what just happened. "Hurry!" He whispered to us, and we all proceeded to the cliff. It was rocky and steep, made up of lots of little rocks and giant boulders. Suddenly, a huge fireball landed behind us, propelling us forward.

We were thrown off the edge, and I could hear the screams, both above me and beside me, as we all tumbled off the hill.


	2. Border Run

**Chapter 1**

**Oberherr Camp, Past Equestrian Border**

**20:00, Someday in October**

**Joey Aucleir**

I groaned, raising myself off the ground, just to stumble again on the gravel like rock. It was night now, so some time has past since the dragons had attacked. I was not to surprised because this wasn't the first time. Wherever it was that the Oberherr had brought him, there were strange creatures, possibly some sick experiments from the Oberherr.

I sat up on the gravel, rubbing my now aching head. I was now under the shelter of a giant rock, which I must have crawled under in my delusional state after falling off the cliff. I huddled up, not exactly sure what to do.

"Gold zero one, do you copy me, over?" I jumped at the static noise that hit my ear, but then remembered the earpiece. Listening more intently, I turned the volume back up.

"This is Gold zero air patrol, we are just now lifting off. How are ground patrols Black 5, 8, and 4 holding up, over." As soon as he said this, I saw large lights fly past my head, and I stared at the two gigantic attack Choppers that flew over my head, the lights emanating from the searchlight stuck on the bottom. I squinted, and saw the door on the side open, an Oberherr trooper manning a large machine turrent.

"This is Black 5, we are still searching for the prisoners. What are the orders when we find them?" I froze in my spot. They were sending the choppers to look for us. The next sentence made my run blood cold.

"Kill the Mercenaries, but bring the assassin back alive. The Mercenaries are easily replaceable. Especially with all these small time villages in Afghanistan." Why would they want me alive? Then, I crouched a little more as I heard two voices, but saying the same words. One voice was in the earpiece, the other right above the rock I was hiding under.

"This is Black 4, still no signs of the targets...Wait! I see one." I prepared to defend myself, pulling out a boot knife I had taken from one of the dead guards. Then, up to 8 Black hooded Oberherr troops ran past me, heading further down the hill. I sighed with relief, until I heard the earpiece. "Sir this is a negative on the assassin. Just a Merc."

"Kill him, then." I looked down and stared to see the youngest mercenary, the one who suggested heading for the cliff. I closed my eyes as I saw the Oberherr Elite aim his rifle at the Mercenary. But closing my eyes didn't allow me to escape the Mercenaries screams of terror, which was drowned out my a steady rhythm of gun shots. I clutched my head, the vision of my Parents flashing through it.

"Stay Calm, Joey." I said to myself out loud. "Don't go into an Anxiety attack! Not now." Quickly regaining my breath, I decided I needed to move. Those Choppers were scanning the cliff now, making there way up. I didn't want to be caught and figure out why they needed me alive. I was NOT going back there.

I made my way down the hill, narrowly evading Black 4's Squad. Then I heard Machine gun fire from the copter. I looked down and saw the spotlight illuminating one of the other Mercenaries. He was quickly engulfed in a heavy stream of dust and bullets. Then, ropes came down from the copter, and 4 men came out, guns drawn and approaching the body.

"Sir, he is a negative. Not the Assassin, over." Cursing myself, I finally made it down the hill making a dash for the treeline. Then, I felt light hit my back. "Sir, I have a confirmed visual on target, He is heading west, towards the Equestrian border!" I looked back, thankful it was only a squad of men and the not the copter.

I dashed into the trees, bullets hitting trees next to me. One skinned my leg, and another got lodged in my shoulder, but I kept running. I found a log, and crawled underneath it, right as the patrol passed over me, screaming for reinforcements to cut me off at the other end of the forest. I heard the chopper pass over my head, and I sighed in relief.

Over the earpiece, I heard the conversation at the end of there chase, when they realized they had lost me.

"Sir, we lost the fugitive."

"Well then find him! We cannot bring the copters any closer to the Equestrian Border without being caught. We need to find him before those damned ponies find him."

Ponies? That must be a code for something. But, as far as I could see, going West was my best option. I stealthfuly made my way through the forest, avoiding the flashlights from enemy troopers. I came upon the clearing and made a run for it. There was no hiding, no trees to duck behind, so I ran. I ran faster than I think I ever had before in my life.

Luckily, the copter had moved on, its searchlight running throughout the forest. Suddenly, the earpiece exploded with shouting voices, and I heard gunfire behind me.

"Alert, he is making a run for the border. I need all squads to engage. Disregard old orders, the Assassin is now a Kill on Sight. I repeat, the Assassin is now KOS!" I heard bullets behind me as I ran. The Elites kept running at me. The chopper began to come, but was quickly pulled back, to not alert the Equestrians, whoever they were.

I then came upon a cliff, that went straight upwards. I began to climb, going on every rock I could find, scrambling to escape the pursuing troops. The earpiece sounded again. "He is right at the border! I repeat, he is right at the border! KILL HIM NOW!" The last part almost made me deaf in one ear.

MP5 and UMP bullets hit all around me as I scrambled up the cliff. I screamed as a bullet hit my back, and another one grazed my head. By now, I wasn't thinking clearly, and was just trying to make it up the cliff alive. The orders to kill me got louder and louder, until I finally stumbled onto the top. The gunfire instantly stopped.

"Fall back to base! I repeat, fall back before they find us." I looked back and saw them running back across the field. I laughed, then looked in surprise as I coughed up blood. I stumbled back, coughing even more. Looking upwards, the last thing I saw before passing out was a giant, orange flower, which extended to the sky.

(**Authors Note:** From that one episode in Season 4, with Discord, Cadence, and Twilight! You know, the flower?)

* * *

Corporal Mallace, leader of the Oberherr Elite Unit in Equestria, was nervous. He was sitting outside of his superiors office, just now receiving word that the assassin had escaped. He was accompanied by Captain Carred, Captain of Black 5 Squad.

Then the door opened, and they were taken inside. Inside the mini office, sat a man. He was wearing a black blazer, a white undershirt, and black glasses, which did not reveal his eyes, as shown by most agents. He turned and looked at them. "So, he escaped." The Captain stepped forward, gesturing with his hands.

"Sir, we did the best we could! There was no way we could have anticipated..." The Agent stood, using his hand to silence the Captain, then opened the drawer in his desk. "Do you know why we are here, Corporal?" Mallace stood more erect, answering, "To Extract Mineral 599 and to test it, sir."

He nodded, pulling out a syringe out of his desk drawer. Mallace's eyes widened, realizing that it was mineral 599. "You see, through our tests, we have been able to see that this mineral is the answer to a lot of problems, can heal many ailments. Through the right chemical catalyst, it has both the potential to heal..."

As soon as he was done saying that, he jammed the needle into the Captains stomach. "And the power to kill."

Then Agent said this through gritted teeth, ejecting the needle. The Captain stood there, shock on his face. Then he started convulsing, screaming wordlessly into the sky. He fell to the ground, clutching his stomach and still soundlessly screaming. Then he stopped. Mallace went to check on him, and gasped to find he was dead.

The Agent stood, facing the window. "Corporal, I need you to bring the Assassin back alive. Go in with a team of your finest, and bring him back here, unharmed, and make sure you are not caught by the ponies this time. We don't want another... incident, now don't we?" Mallace gulped, raising the one handed salute. "It shall be done, Agent Sponze." As Mallace left the room to tell his men, he could barely here Sponze murmur under his breath.

"It had better be."


	3. The Dream

**Chapter 2**

**Just inside the Equestrian Border**

**7:27, Day later**

**Joey Aucleir**

I regained consciousness, not knowing what time of day it was. I sat up, rubbing my head. I gripped my side, groaning from the pain of the bullet wounds in my sides and arms. I stood, then stumbled, the pain overcoming me. I was at the bottom of a hill, which lead to upwards to the weird flower I had found last night. I stumbled up again, flinching again from the pain.

I stood, and stretched, trying to get the kinks out of my muscles. Last night was a blur, except for the sounds of guns, lights, and screams. Those screams. Shaking my head again, I began walking forward. I had no plan, no strategy, no way out of this. The thing to get back to my world was back at the enemy base, and I was in no shape to do that.

I then realized something very crucial. I didn't know where I would find it. In my delirious state last night, I was just running, running West. So, the base was somewhere to the East. I shook my head, continuing to stumble forward. It was the only thing I could do at this point. Just keep moving, maybe find these 'ponies' that the men were talking about over the earpiece.

Then I stopped where I was, putting my hand to my ear. "Damn! Where is it?" The earpiece was gone. It must have dropped into the snow when I rolled down the hill. Shaking my head, I saw a cave up ahead and limped over to it. My surroundings were becoming a little more clear to me, and I could feel everything better. There was fluffy white snow littered in random places on the ground, so that the floor was not completely covered.

The air was frigid and cold, making me able to see my own breath. Random trees were scattered across the clearing, not necessarily making a forest, but at the same time not making it a completely open area. The sky was a beautiful gray, with no clouds in the sky, and the sun barely seen in the distance.

I continued to hobble over to the cave, grimacing each time I felt the pain of the bullets in my back. The one in my shoulder went straight through, but the one in my back was lodged there, and that would cause some problems. I would have to find a doctor to remove it, or simply deal with it, which I knew would most likely be disastrous.

I finally fell face first into the cave, crawling the rest of the way in and huddling in a dark corner. I breathed into my cupped hands trying to warm them up, which didn't help much. I needed to make a fire or something to warm up, before I got pneumonia.

Wincing again at the pain in my back, I stood and made my way to the entrance of the cave. Luckily, there was a small tree nearby, which I quickly grabbed many leaves and sticks from. I also stopped and searched the ground for any flint or metal of any sort. There was none. Cursing to myself, I headed back to the cave, dropping the leaves and sticks on the ground. Using one of the leaves, I screamed in pain as I plugged the bleeding hole in my shoulder.

It probably wasn't the most sanitary thing, but hopefully it would keep infection at bay. At least in my shoulder, for my back was another issue all together. Using one of the other sticks, I tried starting the fire with thermal heat, which didn't work as well as I had hoped. The sticks were too wet to burn, so I had to wait for them to dry off. Grumbling, I laid back down on the ground, scrunching up into a little ball to save as much internal heat as possible.

Closing my eyes and praying for the best, I fell asleep.

* * *

**A little ways off from the Equestrian Border**

**12:46 hours**

**Corporal Tallik Mallace, Oberherr Black Elites**

The Helicopters propeller started swirling, making the chopper lift off the ground. I was in a seat next to 5 other Black Elites, all wearing their signature Black outfit and Gas Mask. I looked down at the gas mask in my hand, opening the straps to put it on. I then opened a lower compartment beneath my seat, pulling out an MP5 and my Makrov pistol.

I put the pistol in its holster, and held the MP5 at the ready. We were traveling at an incredible speed, the plains and forests bellow them zipping past at incredible speed. To my left and right, 2 other choppers traveled, all carrying the same amount of Black Elites.

The Copters were only to place us at the border, as of which we were on our own. The only reason we would have to use communications, the Pilot reported, was to contact them for extraction as soon as we had the Assassin. Though I didn't really understand why he was so important. We could easily get more test subjects, and plus, we had that one man with us. British, been in captivity for nearly 3 years, and was blind (If you don't know who I am referencing, please read Into the Mineshaft). Sponze refused to touch him, saying he was to valuable to risk killing.

Then, I felt a sudden shift in the helicopter. We were descending, landing on the ground. Looking out the window, I saw that we were nowhere close to the Equestrian Border. Furious, I unbuckled and marched up to the cockpit of the Chopper. In the two seats were the Pilot and Co-Pilot, wearing black Aviation Masks and completely black material besides the Red Tiger insignia on there shoulders.

"Why are we stopping? We are not at the LZ!" I snarled at the Pilot. The Pilot paid no attention, but the Co-Pilot turned to me, his voice sounding static because of the Aviation Mask. "Sir, we are picking up a life form on the Equestrian Border, and it is a confirmed Pony." I paled beneath my mask. "Are we compromised?"

The Co-Pilot turned back to his navigation screen, confirming what he said. "Negative on that, sir. We have not been found. But protocol states that until the pony leaves, we cant engage sir. So either you get out of the helicopter and walk. Or we wait it out."

I grunted to the Co-Pilot, and went back to my seat, preparing to sit there for a while.

* * *

**A mile inside the Equestrian Border**

**12:50 Hours**

**Joey Aucleir**

I was having the dream again. For almost 4 years, I have had the same dream, over and over again. A constant repeat inside my head. And I would always cry afterwards.

It would begin with me in a nice, comfortable, middle class living room. Warm light was streaming in through the white curtains, hitting my soft, 8 year old face, and I would always smile as I would play with my toy cars. I had a good life, with parents who loved and cared for me. I looked to the clock and my smile grew wider. 4:00. Mom would be home soon!

I dropped my toys and went to sit on our tan couch, pulling the card I made for her out from behind a pillow. Suddenly, I heard the door open, and both Mom and Dad came in.

"Mommy! Daddy!" I would scream with joy as I ran into there arms. They would embrace me back, asking me how my day was. I would tell them about school, and about my new friend I had made. He was a transfer from Britain. The sad part was, I could never remember his name.

I would then give my parents the card, and they would hug me again, telling me how sweet it was. I then went to sit on the couch as Mom got dinner ready, and Dad went to change out of his nice clothes to put on some Civilian Clothes. We were all going to the park later, and I was so excited!

There, we would get to walk the family dog, Spark, and maybe play some Frisbee. I sat back on the couch, closing my eyes and sighing in happiness.

Then I opened my eyes again.

The couch was gone, and I was sitting on the cold, hard street. I looked in front of me, and stared in terror at my parents glazed over eyes. Bullet holes were riddled throughout there bodies, and I couldn't help but scream in terror. Then, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned and saw a man. He wore a black tux, or blazer, or whatever, with a white undershirt, and sunglasses. He spoke in a rich German accent as he pointed a pistol at my head. He smiled evilly as he said, "Your next."

Then he shot his pistol.

* * *

I shouted as I sat up, cringing from the bullet holes in my back. I put my hands on my head, clutching my hair tightly. I then laid back down, groaning in pain. I them felt a pain in my throat, and I put my hand to my mouth as I coughed violently. "Ah, shit." I said, looking at my fist and seeing a couple droplets of blood.

I went a little deeper into the cave and checked on the wood. Still wet, which made my day a whole lot worse. How could it get even worse? That was when I heard footsteps. It didn't really sound like footsteps though, more like hooves clopping. After hearing the steps echo into the cave. I quickly ducked behind a rock, pulling out the small boot knife.

"Hello?" A voice echoed throughout the tunnel. It was feminine, and it sounded small. Definitely not Oberherr. "I repeat, I know you are in there, whoever you are! Come out in the name of the Equestrian Border Guard!" I sighed a bit. Could this be my stroke of good luck? "Don't make me get more ponies! Come out now!"

Again, ponies. That made little sense that these people would refer to themselves with the same code-name the Oberherr referred to them as. I slowly exited from cover, putting my hands behind my head, but making my knife not visible, hiding it in the sleeves of my prison clothes. What I saw surprised me.

At the entrance of the cave stood a pony, with a fire red mane and a heavy red coat. It had what looked like golden armor on, which did not include a helmet. I lowered my hands, approaching the creature. It had big blue eyes that reminded me of ice, which completely contrasted with her skin.

The pony looked me square in the eyes and a voice said, "Wait, you are not a dragon!" I looked around, trying to find who had spoken. But there was no one to be found.

"Creature, whatever you are, it isn't very nice to look away from the pony you are talking to." I froze at that comment, the word reverberating in my mind. Pony. I slowly turned and looked at the Pony, who was now giving me what looked like an irritated look.

"That's better! Now I am going to bring you in for questioning...you, oh, what are you called... humane?" The ponies mouth was moving with the words, so I assumed that it indeed was the creature talking. What scared me was not the talking pony, but the fact that I wasn't shocked or scared by the talking pony. After the dragons, I guess I was willing to accept anything.

The girl pony tipped her head. "Uh, humane? Can you please come with me, please?" I just snapped at this. Acting completely on instinct, I threw a punch, knocking the surprised pony off of her legs. Jumping over her shocked body, I dash out of the cave, running away. "Hey, wait!" The pony called from behind me, but I refused to look back at it.

"Come on, man! This is my first day on border patrol! Please let me bring you in! I wont hurt you like you hurt me." Very comforting. I kept running, eventually coming and jumping behind a bush. She wouldn't find me here for sure. I sighed and slunk down to the ground. I then groaned as the pain from running caught up to me.

I looked at my shoulder, and pulled the blood soaked leaves out. "That looks like it hurts" I froze and looked to see that pony, now standing in front of me. How did she catch up to me. She tilted her head again in worry. "You don't talk much, do you?" I jumped back over the leaves running again despite the pain in my back.

"Oh, Celestia, I am sorry! Come back! We can get your back looked at, humane!" The voice appeared to be above me, and when I looked there, I became truly shocked. Above me was the pony, two wings extended from either side of her body. I wasn't paying attention, and tripped on a rock. I stumbled, and that is all the pegasus, or whatever it was, needed.

She dived and tackled my legs, making me fall again with a grunt. "Got you! I am not letting you go this time!" My breath had been taken away, thus making me not able to resist whatsoever. "Ouch." I said under my breath. The pony got off of me and smiled a bit. "Ah, so you do talk."

I groaned as I passed out in the snow.

* * *

**Authors Note: **Hey, viewers! So, here is a quick update. I am still looking for people to record the Into the Mineshaft Drama with, if you people are open. Just PM me if you want to sign up. That is all I will speak on that. Speaking of Into the Mineshaft, I have made a last minute decision to write a bonus chapter for it. And trust me, you will probably want to read it before I post Chapter 4. Just saying, so that your shock is out of the way and you can focus on the actual story not Mineral Fla... You know what? I will not tell you what it is. Find out for yourself. ahHAAHAHAHAHAAAAA!. Yes, I have a method to my madness. Stay tuned!


	4. Hospital Escape

**Authors Note:** Greetings, Loyal Viewers! As you guys know, I am writing this story and have promised you the Return of Mineral, Breaker, and so forth. Welp, you get one of those characters this chapter, so be freaking excited! Also, bonus chapter is now up for Into the Mineshaft, so go and check that out. You will not want to miss it for the next chapter. Or else you might be a little confused. Only a LITTLE. Also, Dramatizations have begun, and I am doing voices, so if you want to join, this is your VERY last chance. So, enjoy the story, or else... I will cry.

**Chapter 3**

**Local Border Outpost, Equestria**

**Late Morning, a couple days later**

**Joseph Aucleir**

I always had the same dream, each night since my parents death. So it came as a complete surprise when I had a different dream that night, one with a completely different tale. I expected to be in a living room, when instead I was in a forest.

I was laying, face down, in a pile of autumn leaves. My breath was taken away by the colors of the leaves, which reflected so well off of the setting sun, which cast wonderful reflections off the clouds. In front of me stood a white pony, very tall, with a flowing rainbow colored mane. It looked quite young, but it's eyes told me that it was very wise, wiser than beyond its years.

The second thing I realized was that it had wings and a horn, making it an Alicorn, I believe that mythology called it.

"Young man." The voice seemed to echo throughout the trees, but was quick to note that the ponies mouth moved with it. Was the Alicorn talking. "Child of man." The Alicorn spoke again. The Alicorn had a female voice, very soft and kind, but again sounding very old and wise. I stared at the female pony as she continued to look at me.

"Yes, I know you will not respond to me. I know of your past, and have a vague idea of your future. It will not be an easy road, hardly one you will like. But through these experiences, you will become a better person. You don't come from wicked hearts like most of the men that have entered Equestria, but you are a kind heart. You just need to be more open with yourself."

I continued to stare, my shock finally showing on my face. What was this Alicorn trying to tell me? I had a troubling Future? And what does she mean by the fact that I have to be more open with myself?

When I went to ask her, the White Alicorn was gone, as well as the beautiful forest around me. The setting sun was replaced by a black and red sky, rain pouring on me. I looked down and actually screamed at what I saw. For miles ahead of me, dead bodies lay. A mixture of what looked like ponies and black suited men were laid together.

I also took note of a bunch of men that looked like they wore American Uniforms. All were dead, hundred of them. In the distance, I heard screams of terror, as well as the vague sound of an explosion.

"It will not be an easy road, hardly one you will like." The voice was repeating in my head as I fell to my knees in front of the line of bodies. In front of me was a small Red colored pegasi, who I recognized as the one who originally caught me in the cave. "But through these experiences, you will become a better person."

I started to cry, and the troubling part was that I didn't know why. I didn't know any of these people or ponies, and I have seen multiple dead people in my time. So why was this hitting me so hard? Then, a dust cloud came out of nowhere and hit me in the face out of nowhere, making me fall onto my back.

Rubbing my eyes, I looked and saw that all the bodies were gone, replaced by broken gray rock. I sat up, and saw black shoes in front of me. Looking up, I saw a man in a black blazer, wearing a white undershirt and black glasses. He smiled down at me, aiming a Luger pistol at my head.

"Your next." He said in a Germanic accent, laughing psychotically, right before shooting the pistol.

I opened my eyes, not daring to move. I had a type of mask over my face, and I could barely see anything. All around me were ponies wearing white medical gear and searching my body up and down. The next thing that I noticed was that I was naked, except for a white apron, which thankfully covered some of my body.

The last thing I noticed was that the pain in my back was gone. I didn't dare reach back to check, not to alert the weirdly dressed ponies. They thought I was still asleep, which gave me the perfect opportunity to get out. I have no idea where the feeling to get out came from, but I didn't feel like disagreeing with it. I vaguely remember why I am here, and about the Pegasus that had brought me. Whatever had happened over the past couple of days, I just had to get out.

I had to get out of this world, and into my own. Then, the door opened and a couple ponies left, leaving me alone with only three male ponies, all having horns on there heads. Unicorns. I was surprised at how well I was coping with that fact. I guess the pegasus had already surprised me enough. I then saw my opportunity to move. All the unicorns were facing a monitor in the left most wall of the white room. I slowly began to move, taking the mask off my face and rolling onto the floor, out of the view of the Doctors. I heard one of them turn and say, "Where did he go?" Then a second one spoke, "He's just gone! Page Breaker, tell him what hap..."

The unicorn didn't finish his sentence as I emerged from behind the bed, kicking one of the unicorns in the face. The next one jumped back in surprise, only to trip on an examination table and fall over. The last one looked equally as panicked, a needle levitating close to him. It would make sense, considering it was a unicorn. "Now, sir, just remain calm."

I kicked the needle out of the air, making the last unicorn cower in fear. I decided to spare him and dashed out of the room. I was now in a pure white hallway, filled with injured ponies. There were unicorns, ponies, and pegasi of all shapes and sizes, wandering the halls. There were 4 that stood out, though. They were all Pegasi, with blue military uniforms and emotionless expressions on there faces. Until they saw me. "Stop that human!" One of them yelled as they started charging towards me. I panicked and began running in the opposite direction, weaving through groups of startled ponies as I ran. One of the military security Pegasi appeared around a corner, yelling, "Stop!"

Without stopping, I jumped and landed a hard kick to his face. he groaned and went down. I rounded the corner and saw the door in the distance. I made a run for it, the screams of the Pegasi behind me.

Then, the door opened, and I saw something that would change my life. In front of me was another human, who wore blue clothes that only roughly fit him. He was a handsome man, with brown hair, blue eyes, and a little bit of facial hair growing around his upper lip.

By his side was a small Orange colored pony, with dark maroon hair that was braided into a ponytail and glimmering red eyes. The human seemed startled to see me, but then, most likely a natural reaction, threw his fist, which made contact with my face. I stumbled to the floor, groaning as I hit my head on the wall.

"Breaker, why did you do that?" The little orange pony gasped, and she quickly ran over to examine my now aching head. "Da*nit, I didn't mean to do that." The human said, bending over to examine me as well. I felt consciousness slipping again. The human cursed, yelling for the now approaching security. "He is going into shock! I need help getting him to the room."

Then, my vision completely blackened.


	5. Breaker and Joseph

**Chapter 4**

**Right on the Border, Equestria**

**A few hours later**

Mallace hugged his cloak a little closer to his body, shivering a little from the sky had turned grey, and the clouds rumbled, threatening to rain. Even with his Gas Mask on, Mallace still felt his breathing decline drastically, most likely from the cold.

A few feet ahead of him, 3 Black Elite trackers, all wearing lighter armor than the others, were examining blood stains ahead of them. One of them turned and headed back to Mallace, and Mallace prepared for the report.

"Corporal Mallace. It would appear that the assassin hid in the cave ahead of us, then was being chased by something. It looks like they had a struggle right here." Mallace scowled behind his mask, grabbing the scout by his shoulder.

"Then were the heck is he?" Mallace almost yelled, barely able to control his anger. He was angry because he was scared. Scared of the wrath of Sponze.

The scout gulped, making sure to respond quickly, "It would appear that the ponies arrived and took him away." Mallace threw the scout down, making him land in the snow with a soft grunt. This was bad, for the ponies would find the Oberherr base for sure.

"Orders, Corporal?" A Lieutenant said, looking down at the scout, who was struggling to stand up from when Mallace shoved him. Mallace put his hands behind his back and began to pace.

"If we go after the assassin, we risk being caught by the ponies," Mallace grumbled to himself. "But if we go back empty handed, then Sponze will surely kill us. Either way, we are dead." The Lieutenant gulped, putting his hand very subtly to his throat. "So, what are our orders, Corporal?" Mallace stopped pacing looking back at the Lieutenant.

"Well, first, get our men situated in the cave. We need to stay out of sight for the time being. Then, I want a squad of scouts to go out tomorrow, and try to find where the assassin is. We have to find out, or else we will end up dead within the week." The lieutenant saluted, and went off to relay the order to at least 30 Black Elites, who all started marching towards the cave.

When Mallace went to follow them, he couldn't get that phrase that Sponze always says out of his head. "Failure is like a disease. A disease the Oberherr cannot afford to carry. If you carry this disease, you will be out-casted. And if you aren't dead by morning, you will be dead by that night."

**Border Town, Equestria**

**A little while after the attempted break out**

**Sergeant Darius 'Breaker' Trace**

I closed the door to the sick mans room, worried about him. A patrol had found him the other day, bleeding and half dead. So, of course, to care for the human, they called in another. And that human was me. So, I came out to care for him, and decided (To Mineral Flares approval) to bring the family along.

Border town was one of the few towns that me and my pony wife, Mineral Flare, had not been to yet. It was a fantastic place, especially in the fall, with the leaves changing colors, and that magnificent cool autumn breeze. And then their was him. I came into the hospital and came face to face with what looked like a crazy lunatic.

In a quick motion, I punched him in the face. The punch should have only disabled him, not knocked him out. After looking at his brain waves, however, I saw that he passed out a lot. I honestly didn't know why.

So, because it looked like he was doing better, I decided to keep him at my apartment. probably not the smartest move I have ever made, but I wanted him to wake up to a more familiar area when he came back to consciousness. I wished that I had had something like that when I first arrived in Equestria.

I went into the living room of the small apartment, where Mineral Flare was lying down on the couch, her beautiful red eyes fixed on me. "Well, how is he?" I sighed, scratching my head and looking back at the door.

"He appears to be stable, but what bothers me was how quickly he passed out. A single punch KO only works in comics, not real life." Mineral shrugged, hopping off the couch onto the floor. "Well, I am sure you will take great care of that man." She approached and kissed me lovingly on the lips. We broke and I sighed.

"I hope so, Mineral. I sure hope so." Suddenly, I heard a strange sound coming from our other bedroom. Mineral grunted and started walking towards it. "I just put them down! How are they awake?" I smiled, chuckling as Mineral Flare went into the room. I turned back and started heading for the mans guest room.

I don't know why, but I feel like his safety was crucial. I mean, come on, he is the only other possibly nice human in Equestria. He did not look like an insurgent, at any rate.

When I opened the door, I was shocked to see him standing there. He was dark skinned, like those Native Americans, with rich black hair, dark green eyes, and a well tones, handsome body.

Before I could react, he had kick my legs from underneath me, making me fall to the ground with a thud. The man tried to run past, but I grabbed him by the legs, making him fall down with a grunt. He looked back at me, and kicked my face with the foot I was holding onto. I grabbed my face, yelling out from the pain in my nose.

The man rolled over, attempting to stand with the support of the coffee table, which had me and Minerals drinks on it. Barley able to stand, and still disoriented by the kick to my face, I rammed into the man, who fell off the table onto the ground. I held him down, trying to calm him. "Sir, calm down, I am not your enemy..."

Then, something hard and wet collided into the side of my head and I stumbled off the man, now holding what was left of my glass cup. He was standing, and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he must be feeling more disoriented than I was. Instead of making a break for the door, which I thought he would, he jumped on top of me, knocking over the table in the process.

His hand went up, and he threw a punch to the face. Punch after punch after punch came. My arms were completely restrained, so all I could do was take the punches, which were somewhat weak. But after punch 5, I could feel my face begin to swell and turn purple. All the fight was taken out of me, and I could do absolutely nothing.

Then he lifted his hand one more time, possibly to end the fight, when a small voice screamed out in the corner of the room. "No!" The man turned around, and so did I. There, at the doorway, was Mineral Flare, her eyes glazed over with fear. At both of her side stood my 2 kids, one a filly, the other a human baby.

The human, whose name was Cobalt Flame, or Coby for short, was 2 years old, clinging tightly to Minerals side. His skin was an orange color, with torch like eyes and chubby cheeks. The filly, whose name was River Ripple, or River for short, was the same age as Coby, but was able to stand on his four legs. His skin was Ice blue, which contrasted to his red eyes. I looked back at the man, and I could tell from his facial expressions that something had just popped in his mind.

He looked down at me in horror and jumped off of me, gripping his head with his hands. I touched my swollen cheek, feeling a little blood where the man had left a gash. Besides that, no real serious damage was done.

I sat up, rubbing my cheek some more as the man collapsed onto the couch. "Mineral, remind me never to invite strangers into the house again." I grumbled, which perked her up a little bit. Then her face became serious again when she got a good look at my face. "I will get a cold wash cloth for that. Come little ones." She said, beckoning the 2 kids into the next room.

I groaned and slumped into the chair next to the man. "Sorry." The man grumbled. I turned to him and just simply shrugged. "Hey, you were scared or some sh*t. Same thing happened to me when I first came here. Though, I didn't go on a rampage because of it." This made the man blush a bit out of anger, which quickly died down again.

We sat there for a little bit. Finally, I decided to break the silence and offered my hand to the man. "Names Breaker." The man looked at the hand, then back at my face. He cautiously took my hand and shook, looking me in the eye. "Joseph." I nodded, breaking the shake.

By the time Mineral had come back into the room, we were talking a little bit more. I had told him about my past, and my adventures as of coming to Equestria. Joseph was a good listener, not really talking or asking questions, but had his eyes focused on me the whole time. Joseph was a secretive man, apparently didn't like to talk about his past, and was clearly an introvert.

He spoke very little about his experiences, and even refused to say how he had come to Equestria. He said he wanted to explain it to any of the Authorities in the area.

That was when the doorbell rang. I got up to get it, when I got the glare from Mineral Flare, and I sat back down. She answered the door, and sitting outside was a red colored pony, with a red mane. She looked like she could be a distant relative of Minerals, except for the fact that she was a pegasus.

"Hi, Mineral Flare! Um, I came to see how your patient is doing." She was a young, pretty pegasus, who had the cutie mark of a red weapon of sorts, it was kind of hard to tell. Joseph turned and paled at the sight of the pegasus. The pegasus saw him and smiled. "Hello, sir! I, um, just came to apologize for... um... tackling your legs. My name is, ah, Blade Dawn, by the way. What's yours?"

Joseph turned again towards the pegasus and just stared at her. I wondered what was going through his mind right now. The pegasus, obviously nervous because of the silence, decided to break it. "That, and then I need you to come with me. My boss wants to see you." Joseph sighed, looking at me. I grinned and said, "Do as she says. I can come with you if you..."

He immediately shook his head at this and stood. And, with an emotionless look on his face, he left the room. Mineral closed the door and looked at me. "What was that all about?" She asked, some concern in her voice. I stood, stretching to get a kink out of the back of my neck.

"I don't know, Mineral. I just don't know."


	6. Cafe Talk

**Authors Note:** Hey, sorry these chapters are coming out so late. I am just now settling into the school system, and have a butt load of school work. But hey, hopefully I can still put out chapters on a weekly basis. There will be no more opportunities to help with dramatizations for 'Into the Mineshaft', for I have decided to simply do it myself with a few other friends of mine. So, yeah, expect that soon on my YouTube channel. And you know what I find strange? Whenever I write these stories, I always listen to the Bourne Legacy soundtrack. So, here is a tip for you future writers: Listen to some epic music and the song Extreme Ways by John Powell to be able to get the best out of your writing. Ha, that had nothing to do with anything, but I just wanted to say it. Any who, enjoy chapter 5.

**Chapter 5**

**Border Office, Equestria**

**High noon**

**Joseph Aucleir**

I guess you could say that I had adjusted to the situation, where there were ponies and such. I mean, I wasn't as terrified of them as before, when I actually found out the ponies could talk. But for ponies to be as civilized, even to the fact of having a military system, this might be to much.

I was currently sitting in an office of sorts, being drilled to bits by what looked like a military sergeant. He was a blue pegasus, with a military cut (Or as military cut as a pony mane can get), and a cutie mark (According to Blade Dawn, or whatever her name was) of 3 stars, put into a military like formation, like it was going on a helmet. He was currently trotting around the room, going back and forth.

Then he turned to me. "Are you positive you can't tell me any more about where these humans are?" I shook my head, not saying any more than I had to. The Sergeant cursed, turning back around towards a map on the wall. The map had several pins in different areas around a highlighted area called 'Equestria'.

"We have been looking for these humans for a long time. For almost 3 years, we have searched throughout Equestria for these men you call the, what was it, Oberherr?" Then he turned to me and started trotting to me, with a pissed look on his face. "3 Celestia da*ned years! And now you are saying that they aren't even in Equestria?"

He then sighed, trudging back off to his desk.

"Sorry to blast off on you, I know you are trying to help. At least we know the general direction they are in, and that they are in a mountain. Dragon territory as well, you said? That will be a tricky part. They don't like ponies especially." He kept on muttering to himself, continuing to look at his map.

"You may go now, sir. You have helped a little in this investigation." I stood and headed to the door, not looking back at the sergeant. When I opened the door, Dawn Blade stood there. She looked at attention and sturdy. The Sergeant turned and smiled at her. "You may go now, Dawn. Oh, and get Corporal Bolt for me, will you?"

Dawn stood a little straighter, replying, "Sir, yes sir!" The Sergeant nodded, turning his back to the door and back to the Equestrian map. As soon as the door closed, Dawns shoulder eased up, and she took a sigh of relief.

"Always makes a good impression to stand at attention." She whispered to me as we walked down the hallway to the door. A small squad of brightly colored ponies trotted past, looking more like performers than soldiers. Dawn went to the lead on and said, "Hello, Corporal! The Sergeant wants to see you in his office."

The Corporal was green colored, also a pegasus, with an orange mane. It was a weird mesh, but somehow it worked. His cutie mark (Such a weird name) was covered by his colorful blue and yellow outfit. The Corporal had a soft voice, and it made me believe that this guy was actually a carefree pony. Weird to think that of a pony, though. Then again, what about this was not weird?

"What does the Sergeant want to see me for?" Dawn shrugged starting to walk away with me in tow. "Beats me. He just wants to see you." The Corporal looked like he was going to ask more, but restrained himself and told the others, who looked much younger, to go off to dinner. One of them stood out more to me, though.

It was a she (Don't ask how I can tell), who had orange skin and a fiery red mane. She looked small but fierce. Dawn continued to pull me along towards the door to the facility, which laid right in the middle of the Border town.

"Wonderbolts." Dawn said with a little distaste. "More like performers than an actual military unit, if you ask me."

I looked back and watched them turn a corner, surprised to see that I actually agreed with the young pegasus. We exited the facility, walking down the stone laddened streets. Ponies of all shapes and sizes were walking up and down the streets, going into shops and small markets. It looked very normal, despite the fact that they were ponies.

The sun was beginning to lower in the distance, though it was obvious that it would still be up for a few more hours. Dawn took me to a café near the apartment Breaker and Mineral were staying at. I felt a little bad about what had happened earlier. But at the same time, I felt I was justified. This guy had punched me in the face earlier.

And then I woken up in a strange new environment, and I thought I had been recaptured. I wasn't about to take any chances. The waiter seemed surprised at first to see me, probably because I was a human. He handed me and Dawn some menus, and I will tell you, they had some strange options. Hay fries? Vegan Burgers? Oh god, I had to get out of here.

I decided to just get the Vegan burger thing, and Dawn got something else. Soon, me and Dawn were just sitting in the out door café on the side of the road, awkwardly staring at each other.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked in a hushed tone. Normally, I wouldn't be the one to start a conversation on anything, but for some strange and ominous reason, I felt comfortable talking to her. Which was strange because I normally wasn't comfortable talking to anyone. Dawn looked surprised at my question, and a little confused.

"What do you mean?" I shrugged and leaned a little forward in my chair. "Well, I am currently sitting at a café or whatever with a pegasus I have known for less than 3 hours. Literally."

She pondered it, leaning back into her chair. The waiter arrived with our food when she finally responded. "Well, you know, you were clearly hurt when I literally tackled you in the snow. And plus, I got you confused in this whole mess. I thought that the best way to apologize would be a good, hot dinner. Any more questions?"

I just stared at her, not answering her. She stared right back at me, with a new sort of defiant glare. Where it came from, I have no idea. Was she trying to mimic me or something? We continued to stare at each other, while we both started to eat. The food itself was actually pretty decent, despite the fact I wasn't vegan.

It tasted like a normal burger, so I don't know if this was magically made tofu or something, but honestly, I didn't care. it was good, so I wasn't going to complain. We sat in silence for a good 5 minutes before Dawn finally broke. She was in the middle of eating her hay fries, when, for whatever reason, she slammed a hoof down on the table.

"I can't do this!" She almost yelled, making a few heads turn. I normally wasn't surprised by much, and I had learned to expect almost everything, but what Dawn just did had almost scared me half to death. It was such a safe setting, I must have let my guard down. Dawn removed her hoof and stared at me defiantly.

"I freaking buy you dinner, we could at least have a little side conversation! Sheesh, you staring at me is making feel bad, and you not saying anything is not helping whatsoever. Ugh!" I stared at her now fuming face, still confused on what had just happened. Trying to come up with a sly come back, but not being able to successfully come up with one, I retorted, "Well fine then, what do you want to talk about?" She paled at this, and she slid back into her seat.

"Well, I... uhhhh..." I nodded, crossing my arms. "Hmmhm. Come on, you want to talk? Let us talk then." She began to stammer a bit, trying to form a question. I could tell from her facial expressions that she really was really trying hard, but she was in such a panic she couldn't do it. It was probably because I had put her on the spot.

I sighed as she continued to stammer some nonsense, and said, "Why don't you tell me a little about yourself?" She looked up from her mumbling, looking surprised for a second. She coughed a bit, probably to clear her throat, and looked me in the eyes. "Well, uh, I am about 20 years of age (**Authors Note:** **This is only to compare age to Joseph, for a real horse matures much faster than a human. I looked it up, and technically, Dawn is 4 years old ._.)**, and have been in the military for 2 years. I just finished training, and I was on my first border patrol when I spotted you. I am currently training to be in special forces, though I doubt that will ever happen."

She explained a little more about her military career, and I found that I was beginning to like her. She was nice to be around, and was a comforting face, even though I had only met her for less than a standard day. Then, I was snapped out of my thoughts when she asked the dreaded question. A question that, whenever asked by anyone, I had always refused to answer.

"So, that's enough about me. Tell me about yourself?"

**Border Sergeants Office**

Sergeant Jolt Hoof heard a knock at his door, which he quickly went to answer. Corporal Bolt stood there, at attention and performing the salute to his higher ranking officer. Jolt sighed, waving the Corporal in.

"At ease." Bolt lowered his hoof and entered the office.

"Dawn said you requested my presence, Sergeant?" Jolt nodded, going back behind his desk and pulling out a rolled up piece of paper. Bolt watched as the Sergeant unrolled the paper, which revealed a map spanning many miles. In the dead center was Equestria, as well as other land, spanning thousands of meters across in all directions. The sergeant then pulled out a pen and held it in his mouth.

"So, the human helped more than I could have suspected." The sergeant began, drawing circles with the pen. He was especially interested in a mountain range to the east of the Equestrian border.

"He said that the enemy human camp was to the east, especially in dragon territory. Now, he also mentioned a mountain, which is most likely where the humans are currently sheltering themselves. I need you to take a squad of 5 or so of your Wonderbolts and go and investigate." Bolt stared at the map for a mile, trying to memorize the exact location the Sergeant had circled.

Then, Bolt looked back up at the Sergeant. "Sir, the dragons will not like us snooping around there territory. Remember the great dragon war of..." Jolt quickly intercepted Bolt, saying "57, yes, I know. But the enemy humans are fugitives, and the dragons will just have to give them up under Equestrian law." Bolt looked again at the map, finally realizing the exact location of the mountain.

"So, why do you want a squad of Wonderbolts doing this? Why not a squad of Crimson Scouts?" Jolt rolled the map back up and gave it to the Corporal. "Because Wonderbolts are faster then scouts. If you are spotted, you can make it out quicker, and go unnoticed. Am I understood?" The Corporal left the office, replying, "Yes, sir."

As soon as he closed the door, he saw a small female pony in front of him. She was orange, with fire like hair. "So, can I go?" The Corporal looked at the small pegasus in front of him. "Negative, Spitfire. Remember, you are bound for the Wonderbolts academy tonight." Spitfire sighed looking back at her Wonderbolt uniform. "I don't know if I will be a good instructor or not." The Corporal actually smiled, nuzzling the pegasus a bit. "I am sure you will do fine. You are one of the best flyers in Equestria, as far as I know." Spitfire smiled at this, perking up a bit. "Thanks, Corporal!" The Corporal smiled and saluted the young pegasus. "It was a pleasure teaching you Spitfire."

Spitfire saluted back, than began to head for the door. "It was a pleasure being taught, sir!" The Corporal smiled again, heading towards the barracks. He had a job to complete.

**Café, Border Town**

**Joseph Aucleir**

I sweated a little bit, trying to think about how I would answer her question. How truthful should I be? I mean, I had to tell her something. Anything. But somehow, there was a compelling in my heart, telling me that I could not possibly lie. Dawns smile vanished when she saw me fighting with my consciousness.

"You don't have to tell me, you know. I was just curious, you know." I shook my head standing up a bit. "I am sorry, I just don't like to talk about my past." She nodded, though she still looked a little hurt that I wasn't telling her. "I understand. I am sorry." I shook my head. "It isn't your fault. I am just... tired." She looked to the sky and her eyes widened.

"Oh Celestia, I am on night patrol! Well, um, I guess you can figure out where you are going to be staying. Uh, I have to go." The waiter came buy, and Dawn quickly gave him a bunch of golden coins. Dawns wings began to flutter a bit as she lifted into the air. "Sorry to leave so abruptly, but uh, I have to go." And with that, she dashed away. I sat there, staring off after her. What a strange pegasus. I stood and began walking towards the apartment where Breaker and his... pony wife were staying. Wow, that sounded weird.

The apartment was a brick building, with a good three stories on it. I entered and began walking up the stairs, passing multiple ponies as I continued to climb. Finally, I came on room 123 (I know, you guys are going, like, wow, really? I don't care!). I knocked, and Breaker opened the door. He was a well built man, young, handsome, with brown hair and blue eyes. He smiled at me and said to come on in.

"So, how did it go? I didn't expect your meeting to go so long." I simply shrugged, deciding not to tell him of my experience at the café. Breaker simply shrugged and went to the couch, flopping down on it.

"You can sleep in the guest room for now if you like." I nodded, and went into the room. I slid under the covers. I sighed. This was the most comfortable bed I had ever been in. But as I slowly descended into sleep, I couldn't help but feel as though I was being watched.

**A few yards outside of Border Town**

All would seem quiet in the now darkened Border Town, the moon appearing in the distance as all the ponies went to bed. Little did they suspect that a few yards outside the border town, they were being watched through the scope of a T-56 Bolt Action Sniper Rifle. The man arming the rifle was an Oberherr Assassin, looking pretty similar to the Oberherr elites.

The assassin didn't wear a gas mask, but simply wore a black cloak with a skin tight, black wet suit. The sniper was particularly interested in one of the apartments in the town. A brick one, and a room in particular apartment. Room 123. The assassin put his finger to an earpiece, about to give his report.

"This is Black Scout 3 to Black Scout Leader, do you copy, over?" The earpiece went static, right before a heavy German accent flooded over the air waves.

"This is Scout Leader. What is your report, over?" The assassin zoomed in a little more on the window, focusing on the human figure in the bed. "I have a visual on the human, Scout Leader. He is in room 123 in the Brick Apartment. Your squad can engage when ready... Wait!" The assassin zoomed out a bit, spotting something in the distance.

"Sir, I count a small number of 7 pegasi heading for the Eastern border! The human must have told them already." The Scout leader cursed over his earpiece. "Alright, I need to relay that to head command. Keep an eye on the human, we will engage as soon as our little problem is taken care of."

**Eastern Equestrian Border**

**Corporal Light Bolt, Wonderbolts**

The night was quiet as I soared through the air, 6 other Wonderbolts on my hoofs. We were currently approaching the Equestrian border, prepared to find these humans. When suddenly, something caught my eye.

"Wonderbolts, descend quickly." We all began to land. There was definitely movement on the ground. We all were now landed, and were searching the area. Suddenly, a loud noise rang out from the darkness. Ratatatatatatatataat.

Two Wonderbolts screamed and went down, and I quickly shouted orders, "Ascend! Ascend!" But it was too late, the noise and flashing lights were now all around us, and my brothers and sisters quickly fell. Then, something metal and hard hit my side, and I went down, groaning in agony. The noise stopped, and I heard a voice emerge from the shrubbery.

"Make sure they are all dead." Then, I watched as at least 20 humans emerged from the shadows, surrounding my comrades, searching each of there dead bodies. One of them came up to me, and went to check my pulse. I kicked him in the face, making him stumble back with a groan. Then, I heard another gun shot, and my world went to black around me.

**Apartment, Border Town**

**an hour later, close to 10:00**

**Joseph Aucleir**

Something was wrong. I don't know what woke me up, but it was a feeling deep in my gut. And then there were the noises. It sounded like footsteps. Coming from the stairs. How I could tell was beyond me. And they were footsteps, not hoof steps.

I instantly got out of bed and put my head to the floor. Three of them. Again, it was almost a psychic feeling I had. I cursed, opening my door and getting out of my bedroom. I opened the main door and went into the hallway, dropping to the floor. I was enough in the shadows that they wouldn't see me.

Then, my fears were confirmed. Three black cloaked men came up the stairs, all armed with pistols, drawn and at the ready. The Pistols were silenced, but the backdrop had an extra kick on it, so the shot would be just as powerful.

I waited for them to pass me, and saw that they were surrounding room 123. I made my move, jumping onto the back man. I quickly hit the pistol out of his hand, kicking his feet from underneath him as he began to turn.

His two friends turned and began aiming there pistols, but I was too fast. I grabbed one of the assassins arms, ramming him into the other man. The man tumbled to the ground, his pistol skittering off into the darkness.

The man I used to ram him, however, threw punches at my face, making me let go of him. He charged at me again, throwing a sloppy punch to my face. I caught the punch and, using my other hand to grab his left leg, flipped him over onto his back.

He groaned on the ground, trying to make a grab for his fallen pistol. I kicked it away, right before the first assassin came and gripped both of my arms. The man I had rammed was up again, charging me with a dagger.

I dodged, and the shank barely missed me, hitting the assassin who was holding me. He let go with a scream, clutching his bloody wound in his side. The man with the shank withdrew, stunned.

Which gave me enough opportunity to knee him in the stomach. He doubled over, which gave me the opportunity to knee him in the face. He went down, unconscious. One down, two to go.

Both of the other assassins were up, one of them clutching his pistol. I dashed at the gunman, hitting his arm right as a round of silenced bullets hit the wall to the side.

Then, the other one made a punch at my face, which made contact and I fell down. I rolled towards him, tripping him and making him go down with a thud. I got up right as the other man tried charging, in which I grappled him, ramming him into a wall. The wall must have been weak, because his head went clear through, and he slumped over, unconscious.

The last one, who was still struggling to get up, was almost in reach of his pistol. I walked over and picked it up, but by the barrel instead of the grip. When he attempted to get up again, I pistol whipped him in the face, making him fall over with a final grunt.

I looked at the bodies, right as the door opened and Breaker emerged, a robe barely covering his body. He looked a little annoyed at me. "Joseph, what are you..." Then his eyes widened at the site of the three men.

"Jesus..." He said. I nodded, standing to full length, right when a bullet hit my shoulder. The shot was powerful enough to make me spin, in which I blindly aimed and fired.

There was a fourth assassin, right by the stairs crouching. The bullet I fired was straight, and hit the assassin straight in-between the eyes. He yelled and collapsed down the stairs, making a lot of noise on his way down. By now, all the ponies on the floor were coming out, wondering what the noise was. When they saw the bodies, they gasped and went to check on me. I slumped to the floor, clutching the back of my head.

How did this happen?

**A few yards outside Border Town**

"Black Scout leader, do you copy, over?" The sniper repeated. This was his fifth time calling in with no response. He looked through his scope, and cursed as he saw Pony military units running down the street, heading towards the bricked building. The sniper got up and began walking away from the sniper position, adjusting his earpiece frequency. "Command, do you copy?"

Mallaces voice came over the earpiece, sounding a little relieved. "Yes Sniper 5, I read you. Wait, why is your superior not contacting me?" I gulped when I gave my answer. "Sir, I think the mission failed. Joseph is stronger than we thought." Mallace sounded furious. "Da**it! But how? They were to simply gas him and take him out of the building undetected. How did he know they were coming?" The sniper looked back at the apartment, which was now completely lit.

"I don't know, sir. I don't have a clue."


	7. Another Puzzle

**Chapter 6**

**Border Town, Equestria**

**Morning after attempted assassination**

**Joseph Aucleir**

That was one he*l of a night. First the assassins come trying to kill me, and then reports just came in that Corporal Bolt and his squad were all killed near the border. The Oberherr really didn't want anyone finding out where they were. The Sergeant who had spoken to me the other day was busy getting a patrol to investigate the dead bodies, and had left a captain in charge of the prisoners.

There were only 2 of them, for the one that was stabbed last night died from blood loss later on. Both of the prisoners were sitting on the cobblestone road, hands behind there heads. They looked terrible, with a black eye, a broken nose, and a huge bruise on top of one of there heads. When I passed them, they would glare at me with pure hatred, and I honestly wouldn't blame them.

A whole assortment of blue uniformed pegasi guards, who I would assume was the equivalent to a human MP (Military Police), surrounded the two assassins. We were currently waiting for orders from the sergeant on what to do with them. It had been a whole hour since the Sergeant had left, and that made me worried. Where was he? Then, a streak of red appeared across the horizon as I saw Dawn Blade come down landing next to the leading officer. She cast me a pity filled glance before saluting to the captain.

"At ease, Dawn. What does the Sergeant have to report?" Dawn eased her shoulder, her wings folding at her sides. "Well, the Sergeant said that there were indeed humans. But for some reason, we can't track where they went. Anyway, the Sergeant said we are to take the two assassins in for interrogation. He said we need to find out the EXACT location of the enemy base. He doesn't want to risk another patrol."

The Captain nodded, turning on the two assassins. "Tell me where the Oberherr base is." They both looked to the ground, not trying to look him in the eyes. The captain approached one of them. "If you answer my question, then you will not have to deal with our interrogation process."

One of them looked up, and I got a good look at his face. He was clean shaven, bald, with brown eyes and a good build. He scowled at the captain and spat at him.

"Fu*k you!" The assassin screamed at the captain. With the nod of the captains head, the MP came and pushed the assassins to there feet, leading them towards the military complex. I didn't it like one bit how they were not wearing any restraints. They could easily run. Which I wouldn't allow.

**Rooftops of Border Town**

Just as yesterday, the sniper looked through his scope on the parade of ponies and humans heading towards the military complex. The sniper was carefully positioned a few yards away, on top of one of the market buildings.

He put a finger to his earpiece, saying, "Head Command, this is Black Sniper leader, over." The Germanic accent of Mallace resonated throughout his ear. "We read you loud and clear, Black Sniper. What is your position, over?" The sniper zoomed in a little more, targeting the two assassins. "I have a visual on a multitude of targets, including the prize and two of our Scout leader and Black Scout 2 are nowhere to be seen."

The sniper just heard static for a second, before the response came through. "Alright, to ensure full no information is leaked, we will need to execute Order 54." The Sniper froze at hearing this. Order 54 was to ensure that no information got into the hand of their enemies. By any means necessary. The sniper put his finger to his earpiece, aiming his sniper rifle at the two captives.

"It will be done."

**Joseph Aucleir**

We continued the small parade down the street, only about 4 yards away from the Complex. Then, something strange happened. A ringing sounded in my ear, like a flashbang had just gone off next to me. I turned to the noise, following it to the direction of the market. The sun was reflecting off of something. Glass...

Suddenly, something whizzed by my ear, heading for the assassins. The one you had cursed at the captain screamed as the bullet hit his neck, making him fall over. The MP were shocked, wondering what had just happened. I ran towards the assassin, tackling to the ground as another bullet barely missed him. The man looked terrified, and was mumbling to himself about something called order 54.

The MP scrambled to get out of the street, right as another bullet hit an MP, making him go down. I stood up and ran to the wall, right as another bullet tried to hit the assassin.

I turned to the MP next to me and said, "Keep him alive at all costs. I will go after the sniper." The MP officer nodded, trotting over to the sobbing body of the prisoner. I looked up at the window on the building in front of me. I began running up the wall, jumping on it to grasp the window.

A few seconds later, I was on top of the roof, running at the sniper. The sniper wore pure black garbs, his face not concealed by the standard gas mask of an Oberherr Elite. The sniper aimed his rifle at me, and I prepared to jump to cover.

Then, the sniper did something that surprised me. He tilted his rifle and fired. But he wasn't firing at me. The bullet hit a gas tank next to me, which shot white gas into my face. I was blinded as I stumbled out of the gas.

It took a few seconds of rubbing to be able to open my eyes, in which I saw the sniper running away, jumping from rooftop to rooftop in an attempt to get away. I started to pursue him, jumping from roof to roof in an attempt to catch up with him. He was fast, I would give him that. Especially with the giant rifle he was carrying, it was amazing how fast he was running.

I was quicker though, and was quickly catching up to sniper turned around, and looked startled at how fast I was catching up. He quickly slung his sniper over his back and pulled out a pistol. Jumping backwards and swinging around, he fired 3 shots at me. All but one missed, the one grazing my leg. The sniper, in his backward jump, had crashed through the window of one of the buildings.

A few seconds later, I was also jumping through the window, following in close pursuit. It was a bedroom, and the door was broken open, most likely from it being slammed open. I quickly ran through, following the snipers footsteps through the narrow hallways of the house. I turned a corner and saw him running down the hall, approaching stairs at the end. He turned and saw me, quickly throwing any object into my way as possible. I dodged the objects, finally within arms reach of the sniper.

I jumped, tackling him through yet another window. The window lead to an alley, in which we both collided into a trash can. I groaned, lifting my head from the hard concrete floor. The sniper was also dazed groggily getting up and limping away.

My head still fuzzy from the fall, I went and tackled his legs. He turned and kicked my face hard, making fall away a bit. This time, the sniper didn't run, instead pulling out his pistol and aiming it at me. "

You are lucky Sponze wants you alive." The sniper said, before firing a bullet into each of my knee caps. I yelled and fell over, clutching my now bleeding legs. The sniper began to hobble away again, when a maroon blur came out of now where, striking the sniper to the ground. The blur sat on the snipers chest, before looking at me with wide eyes.

It was Dawn. Dawn Blade trotted off of the groaning sniper, approaching me quickly. "Oh Celestia, Joseph! Are you alright?" I nodded, attempting to stand, but quickly fell again as large amounts of pain surged through both my legs. Dawns eyes widened as she examined my profusely bleeding legs.

"Uh, no you are not! We have to get you to a hospital or something." I didn't say anything, instead trying to balance on a trash can. I quickly jumped on the sniper, who was attempting to get up again. The sniper grunted, struggling under my weight, but finding out quickly that there was no escape. He sighed and hit his head on the ground in defeat.

I turned to Dawn Blade, quickly saying, "Go and get some more ponies." She nodded and flew off. A few minutes later, both the sniper and the second assassin were on the ground, hands behind there heads, sitting in interrogation. The sergeant had returned with no luck on finding Bolts killers, and he was pissed. He drilled really hard into both of the assassins, but without any luck.

The two just sat and stared. Now, if the sergeant was pissed before, he was fuming mad now. Some guards had to restrain him from literally strangling the assassin, who now went from emotionless to scared, and a wet spot appeared in his pants. The sniper on the other hand had not even fidgeted. He wasn't emotionless, however.

He had a sly smile on his face, and his eyes made me realize he had a plan. I was currently sitting behind a glass paned window, watching with Dawn and a few others as the interrogation played out.

Dawn was sitting next to me, and leaned over to my ear. "I don't like the looks of the one smiling." I nodded, completely agreeing with her. I winced again at the pain in my legs which was currently being looked at by Breaker. I winced as Breaker pulled the second bullet from my kneecap, dropping it on the floor. Clapping his hands together, Breaker began to stand.

"You will have to get a unicorn to look at any long standing damage. But from what I can see, he simply shattered the bone. It will take time to heal, at most a few months. But the good news is that it will be stronger than before." I shook his hand, saying, "Thanks, Breaker." He smiled at me saying, "Anytime, mate."

With that, he began walking out of the room. I looked out the window again. The assassin was being hustled to stand up, and was being escorted out of the room. I noticed that the sniper suddenly tensed up, his hand clenching tightly. Then, a feeling came over me. The same feeling that had come over me when the men were coming up the stairs. Intimate, raw danger.

The sergeant loomed towards the sniper again. "Last time. Where is the Oberherr base being hidden away at specifically." The sniper smiled, and I felt a my spine run cold as he faced the window. His eyes slowly turned and seemed to meet mine, which was almost impossible, because the window was one way, making the other side seem like a window. I began to stand a bit, I which I quickly groaned and dropped into my chair again. Dawn looked at me, confused. "Are you ok?" The sniper then laughed, and I froze when I heard that laugh.

Where have I heard that laugh before? One of the MPs, looking nervous, moved to the control rooms door, trying to open it. "Sir, the door is locked! Why is the control door locked?" I faced the window again as havoc exploded in the room.

The sniper was held to the chair only by his arms, not by his legs, giving him free access to do anything down there. Using his weight to scoot back, he brought his legs up and kicked the wooden interrogation table forward. The sergeant, still leaning over it, was pushed back with the table, being crushed in-between the table and the wall. The sergeant fell, attempting to get back up.

When the sergeants head was equal with the table, however, the sniper kicked again, this time the head of the table colliding with the sergeants head. The two other MPs in the room, as well as the assassin, stared in horror as the sniper stood up, the chair still attatched to his back. One of the MPs charged, only to get knocked out from a swift hit in the head from the chair.

The second one charged, the time tripping over the snipers foot. The sniper jumped backwards, landing on the MPs back. The MP yelled out in pain as the chair broke on impact, the sniper now free. In the control room I was in, the three MPs and Dawn were trying to bust the door open, which was still mysteriously locked. I watched as the sniper approached the assassin, who was now cowering in a corner.

"Agent Noran, please don't..." The sniper quickly reached his hand out, a thin needle protruding from one of his finger tips and going into the assassin. I watched in horror as the assassin began to scream on the ground, writhing in pain. Then, a second later, the assassin was still, his eyes glazed over. The sniper looked at me, smiling through the shade of his cloak.

I couldn't stand it anymore, and I decided to jump through the glass. It shouldn't have been possible, but I did it anyway, and landed down next to the sniper, or Agent Noran, whatever the assassin had said. The Agent actually smiled when he saw me. "Joseph Aucleir." I looked at him, startled. "How did you know my name?"

While in captivity, I had refused to reveal my name. I refused to tell anyone my full name. Noran laughed at this. "Oh, Joseph, there is a lot we know about you. A lot more than you could possibly ever realize." I tried standing up, surprised to see that I could actually do it. Considering Breaker had said that the bones were broken, how was I even able to stand? Noran also seemed to notice this, and he frowned.

"How are you..." I charged Noran, ramming into him. He grunted in surprise as I pinned him to the wall. "Why does the Oberherr want me alive?" I said to Noran. I heard hoof steps behind me, and I glanced around to see that the MPs and Dawn had finally just come through the broken window, most likely giving up on the door. Noran suddenly laughed beside me, not even resisting my movements.

"As I had said earlier, Joseph. There is a lot more about you than meets the eye." Suddenly, I felt a force within me. Within my nerves, telling me to let go of Noran. I ignored them, until they became to much, and I was literally thrown off of Noran. I looked at my body to see it encased in a bright red aura. The MPs looked shocked, until the door exploded.

Literally, it took half of the wall with it. There, standing outside the hole in the wall, was a white colored unicorn. "Come on, agent!" The Agent began walking out, looking back only once with an evil sneer on his face.

"Oh, and by the way Joseph . You helping these ponies will not get you any closer to finding your parents murderers." I stared, now becoming the shocked one.

"What do you know about them?" I shouted getting onto my feet, which felt really light, and almost no pain was coming from them. The MPs, recovering from here shock, began charging towards the Agent and the unicorn. The Agent laughed, as he was encased in the same red aura, and disappeared, leaving only a white smoke behind.

"The Unicorn teleported him out!" An MP said, still looking shocked. The Sergeant, who was unconscious, was now getting up off of the floor.

"I want patrols all over the area! They cant teleport to far away! Scramble everything we have. Don't let them escape!" The Sergeant yelled, running out of the room to relay the order. The MPs followed in suit, all except Dawn, who went to check on me.

"You all right?" I nodded, standing up. That was when Dawn gasped. "Joseph, your legs!" I looked down and gasped as well. A blue aura had surrounded my leg, and the skin and bones were slowly melding back together. It was like... Magic. "What is that?" Dawn asked. I continued to stare at it.

What was going on?

**Oberherr Base, Outside of Equestria**

**Doctor Foger Yomen, Oberherr Chemical Analyst**

I stared at the monitor, trying to make sense of what I was seeing. It was the readings from the assassin, Joseph Aucleir. It was almost unbelievable. I had no idea that injecting a person with a plus and negative blood stream would have this sort of effect when mixed with element 599 and Catalyst #24.

The door suddenly opened off to my side, and in came Agent Sponze, accompanied by 2 Oberherr Elites.

"What is it you needed, Dr. Yomen?" Sponze looked tired, like he had been up all night. And when Sponze was tired, he was irritable. And when Sponze was irritable... I didn't want to think about it. I signaled him to come over to the computer.

"I have come up with some interesting results from the Assassins report." Sponze looked at the monitor, signaling for me to continue.

"Well, we found out that element 599 was a powerful substance, one of the most powerful we have seen in and outside of Equestria. And, with the combined study that we received from the unicorn blood sample, well, we have probably made a huge breakthrough." Sponze looked at me, still not impressed. That was going to change in a few seconds.

"Well, compared with our studies on Unicorn magic, we have found that when element 599 and Catalyst #24, when mixed together, create the same thing." Sponze looked confused for only a mili-second, before his eyes shot open.

"Wait are you saying that..." I smiled a bit as I turned to fully face him. I pulled out of my pocket a small vial, containing the blue mixture.

"Sir, if you want to put it in Equestrian terms, we are now in possession of pure 'Magic'."

Sponze was still shocked, looking at the vial with a new hunger in his eye. He then shut his eyes tightly, and stood up to leave.

"Continue your research, Doctor. I am sure you will be able to create wonderful things with this new discovery." I smiled and looked back at the monitor, thinking up over a thousand more chemical compounds to mix with the new Wonder of element 599.

"I will, Sponze. I will."


	8. Upcoming plans for stories (Update) I am

Dear Viewers

I would like to apologize again for the big wait on the next chapter! I am making

this one Veeeeeery long, as requested by some viewers. I am about halfway done,

and trust me, you guys are going to want to read it. Big stuff happens! Anywho, I

really have nothing else to say, except for my dearest apologies that the story is not

out yet. Oh, and I wanted to give a layout for my next stories. I do not plan to end

on Storm Rising. I have two whole other stories left to write, one more introducing

the last human, and the one after that the liberation from Oberherr 'occupation'.

Now, unfortunately, after I am done with Storm Rising, I am going to put those

projects on hold for a few months. I am doing this because I am working on my

own novel (Oberherr are in it, so it is complicated), and ever since I began writing

this series, I have kind of put a hold on that project. So, not a long time, maybe less

than a few months, but I just plan on taking a break from fanfiction for a little bit.

Plus, I want more people to read these before I make more. So, spread the word!

Tell the world of my stories! For maybe I will make a movie or something on it

later (Most likely not because of pesky Copy rights. You know how it goes,

youtubers!) I am still planning on doing Audio Dramas, once I can get it to work

out. Thank you, saadin, for answering my call and agreeing to help with it. It will

be a pleasure. Anywho, that is all I am going to say. Good bye, because I know

have to finish my next chapter.


	9. The Experiment

**Chapter 7**

**Forest near Border Town**

**About 4 months later**

**Joseph Aucleir**

This world I was brought into truly was amazing, despite the fact I was hiding for my life constantly from any more Oberherr Assassins. Word was sent to Princess Celestia, who would happen to be the monarch of the land, and hopefully word would get back. It was surprising to me of the lack of attacks that had come.

After Norman had escaped, there has been very little Oberherr activity to be seen. No more assassins, late night 'visits', or anything of that sort. It was all peaceful and quiet, and it has taken quite a toll on me, as Breaker had said.

When I had first came to Equestria, I was very shy, not really the kind of person who would speak, liked to remain in the shadows. Now, it seemed to be the opposite. I don't know what had changed, besides the fact that this place simply felt... safe.

Comforting. Really, the first peaceful place I had been to in 4 years. And it wasn't just the peaceful setting. It was the people, or ponies. Well, both, including Breaker.

Breaker had become almost like a brother to me, for we were both humans and what not. Over time, I became more and more open with him, revealing more about myself and my past life. He was always willing to listen, and I found him to be a very understandable person. The only thing I have not been completely truthful with was why I had become an assassin... For my parents being executed.

The fact I still had to keep my pact to avenge my parents was the only reason why I didn't just settle down here in the border town. Which lead into the other highlight of my new life here: Dawn Blade.

She had become like a companion to me, always by my side, and not letting me out of her sight. She claimed her reason was because I was attacked every time I was out of her sight. I would take that answer for now, but I would question why someday. Meanwhile, I would enjoy my time here while it lasted. The first time I will have enjoyed anything in a very long time.

I was currently with Dawn Blade, a few miles away from the town, near a very big ravine. Actually, very big might not be a good way to describe it. It was absolutely huge, probably going on for miles. We had been planning on coming here for some time now, to do something that she had done all her life, but I was about to start doing today.

Flying.

I was shocked when she first came to me with the idea, but it also made me curious. Breaker had suggested a tailor, who made me this pure black, skin tight wet suit. Then, with my help, we made wings that would resemble a flying squirrels. So not necessarily flying, but more or less gliding. Dawn said it would be fun either way.

We were both currently under the shade of a tree, just chilling out and talking. She was an interesting pony, who had a lot of depth and personality. Nice, gentle, but also stern when needed, which I guess came from her time in the military. I sighed closing my eyes and sighed, content.

I heard Dawn stretch beside me and stand up.

"Come on, Joseph." I opened one of my eyes, looking to see Dawn approach the edge of the chasm. I stood and approached her, who was now arching her wings, preparing to dive. I actually smiled and prepared as well. She then looked at me, worry on her face. "Are you sure they will work?"

I shrugged. "Guess I will find out." She smiled a bit at that, and got into position again. "Ready?" I nod, leaning in a bit. "Go!" She yelled, before diving off the side of the ravine. I dived after her, my heart pounding as I saw how deep the chasm went. Closing my eyes, I opened my arms, my 'wings' extending.

Then, I felt my falling stop as I levelled out, catching the wind. I opened my eyes and gasped. I was lightly riding the wind, being carried forward through the ravine. Dawn was besides me, smiling at me.

"Glad they work." I nodded, and began to feel my pulse quicken as I began to plummet a bit, gaining more speed before leveling out again. Rocks were up ahead and, feeling confident in my abilities, began to nimbly dodge them, feeling more alive then I have ever felt in my life.

My speed increased, and the rocks zipped by faster and faster. Dawn was barely able to keep up, flapping her wings faster and faster. "Hey, slow down, Joseph! This isn't a race." She sounded serious, but I could tell a bit of laughter in what she said. I laughed to, screaming out in utter ecstasy at the feeling of pure, unadulterated freedom.

The sky was no longer the limit! I closed my eyes, embracing the feeling more and more. I felt like I was entering a dream like state. Suddenly, a white haze hit my eyes, and I began to feel myself lose air fast. "

Joseph!" I heard Dawn scream as I plummeted. What was scary was that I wasn't scared. I just suddenly felt tired. I tried to fight against the feeling, trying to raise my arms, but it was too late. My mind wandered, and my vision blacked out.

I opened my eyes, rubbing my aching head. A bright light was peering down on me, making me squint a little. I was in the middle of a pure steel room, cubed for the most part, besides a domed skylight. I was shocked to realize that I was back in the testing room, where I was injected with the strange serum.

There were 6 men in the room, completely covered with yellow hazmat suits. Above me was the window where they were apparently getting the data. In the center of the room was a bomb like contraption. It stood on four legs, completely metal, with 3 clear tubes containing a strange green liquid and a blue liquid.

I approached it, and was startled to see that no one seemed to see me. I must be in a dream, or a vision. I approached the container, looking at the inscriptions on the side.

Under the clear tube with the blue liquid wrote Element 599. I grasped my head in pain as I remembered that that was what they had injected into me. Under the green liquidwas something I had never heard of before. Element 236. Suddenly, I wasn't in the steel room, and I found myself in the upper control room, which overlooked the cubed room.

In the room were 4 men. One was in a white medical uniform, small thick glasses on his chubby face. Beside him, flanked by 2 Oberherr soldiers (Authors Note: There is a difference between Oberherr Elites and Oberherr Soldiers. The soldiers wear tan uniforms, with matching berets), was a well dressed man with black tinted glasses.

He was clean shaven, with black hair, a black blazer, and a luger hanging from his side. I grasped my head again. Where had I seen him before? The scientist was hunched over a computer, examining the data that was rolling on the screen. I peered over his shoulder, realizing that these men couldn't see me either.

On the screen was a list of numbers, most likely chemical formulas. I recognized one of the numbers, which was 599. I vaguely remembered that that was what they had injected me with. The well dressed man looked back out at the room, his face showing signs of impatience. "How much longer, doctor? You said that mixing pure Element 599 and Element 236 would be a game changer in this whole endeavor. I have things I need to get done."

The doctor turned, a scowl on his face. "Patience, Sponze! I am just about done inputting the exact amount! Plus..." He tapped a final key on his keyboard and went for the Microphone, which must have been connected to the intercom. "Alright, we are ready to begin test #1 with Codename Magic Element and Element 236."

Magic Element? He must have been referring to Element 599. I looked out the window, and saw one of the hazmat men lift his thumb in approval. The doctor nodded, pushing a few more keys into his keyboard.

"Alright, this will be with a combination of only 5% of each mineral being mixed." The hazmat man nodded again, pressing a button on the machine. It wurred a bit, letting off some steam as the mixing process began. Then, something must have went wrong. The machine in the middle began to spark, smoke coming off of it.

The doctor looked confused, reaching for the intercom. 'What is going on down there?" One of the Hazmat men shrugged, running over to the device to shut it down. That was when it exploded. When it blew, orange gas shot all over the place, most likely the mixture of the 2 elements. Sponze was standing now, looking shocked.

That was when an alarm went off. Red lights began blinking all over the place, and a siren emitted a loud noise. The skylight was closed with a metal sheet, putting the whole building on lockdown. The doctor was frantically typing into his keyboard.

"Poisonous gas has entered the room! But something else as well... what the hell?" I looked out the window again and my eyes widened in horror. The hazmat men were now in the center of the orange fog, completely encased. Then it happened. It was hard to make out, but it looked like they were slowly... disintegrating. A walkie talkie in the office beeped, and a frantic voice began yelling over it.

"Sir, the fog... its eating through our hazmat suits like acid! We need an immediate evac! I repeat, we need..."

Then the line was cut short as the horrifying events continued to unfold. It was just as the man had said. The fog was literally eating through the suits, exposing the men to the gas. They began clutching at their throats as they inhaled the gas, falling and writhing on the ground. I began to walk away from the window, absolutely terrified.

Sponze and his guards must have gotten the same idea, as they began to back away as well. The fog had completely covered the room now, and was hitting against the window. It was getting hard to see out of, and I quickly understood why.

The outer window was bubbling, slowly melting away. The doctor was now up, putting in the security code in the door and ushering everyone out. "Get out! We need to get out of here!" That was when I was struck with yet another white light, and my vision began to go black again. The last thing I saw was Sponze and the doctor running from the room, the orange fog now seeping through what was left of the window.

I awoke again, this time in a darker area. The floor I was on was cold and wet, like mildew on grass. I groaned and stood up, rubbing my still aching head. I was in a large cave, with a high roof, and went pretty deep inward. All around me were large wooden crates, filled to the brim with guns, ammo, and metal. But I found the guns to be an oddity.

They weren't modern, looking to be from the World War 2 era. bolt-action KAR 98 and MP-40s were scattered in the crate, which made me wonder where my dream had taken me. Then I saw exactly where I was, or more specifically, what time. On the crates, was a strong looking falcon. In the falcon's claws was a Nazi Swastika, encased in a circle.

I also became aware of lots of men around me. In the cave, black uniformed soldiers were running all over the place, the red and black swastika on there uniform sleeve. I shivered a bit as a cold breeze came over me, and I hugged myself, trying to keep warm. I went to the mouth of the cave, shielding my eyes from the blinding light, and saw a breathtaking sight.

A field of snow covered land lay before my eyes, hills stretching for miles in all directions. There were flurries falling from the sky, landing on any bit of land it came across. There were very few trees, and it was mostly an open area. Bellow me, a load of military trucks sat, Nazis running around everywhere. They seemed to be in a hurry, frantically putting crates inside the trucks, which were already revving up to leave. I went back inside the cave, where there seemed to be an equal amount of panic.

Nazi soldiers were bringing crates out to be loaded onto the trucks. Most of these soldiers looked really young, looking like they had just come out of school. Then, I saw two men that stood apart from the rest of the soldiers there. One was wearing an officers uniform, a black mustache on his face. He was lean and square jawed, looking like a stereotypical Nazi officer. The man beside him, however, looked a lot different. He was a short and pudgy man, with small round glasses and a loose white outfit.

They seemed in a hurry to be outside, more so than the other men. I followed them, taking note that the men here didn't seem to notice me either. They stepped outside, just as a black car pulled up. It was long and sleek, carrying 3 men. One was the driver, and another was clearly a private, carrying a KAR 98 rifle.

The last one, however, was a big, muscular man, with a square jaw and an aftershave on his square jaw. He wore a black trench coat, with the same Nazi symbol on his coat sleeve, and an officers hat with the Iron Falcon engraved on it. The driver open his door and he stepped out, seeming to breath in the cold, winter (I would assume) air.

He approached the two men, who quickly threw there arms out in the typical Nazi salute. "Heil!" The officer said. The man in the trench coat copied the salute, afterwards shoving his hands into his trench coat's pockets. The trench coat man looked around, taking note of all the panic.

"Why is everyone packing up? What is happening?" The officer looked around, biting his lip. "We just received word not to long ago that the damned Soviets retook Stalingrad, and are marching this way." The Trench Coat man paled at this, looking North.

"Those Communist dogs! Yes, I can see the reason to fall back. But, that is not the reason I am here." This time, the white coated man, who I would assume was a doctor, said, "Of course, Baron Screed. Please, come with me. You are here for the artifact, ja?"

The Baron nodded, and followed the 2 others as they lead him deeper into the cave. Weaving around several crates and troopers, the 3 men went to the far back of the cave, which was covered in a huge tarp. The doctor nodded, and 2 Nazi infantrymen pulled the curtain aside. I gasped as I stared at two things in the room.

One was a large, circular contraption. The other a small wooden mirror. I recognized both almost instantly, which came with a large head ache. This was the portal to Equestria. The Baron seemed just as surprised, slowly coming closer to the large device.

"Is this it? Is this the portal?" The doctor shook his head at this, pointing instead to the small mirror. "Nien, Baron. The mirror is the portal." The Baron froze, turning his confused gaze on the doctor.

"Then what is this large contraption for?" The doctor coughed into his hand, and it was hard to tell if it was a genuine cough, or if he was merely trying to clear his throat.

"Well, we found the mirror, and it was indeed the portal. But when we sent some men inside, they came through with some... side effects." The Baron continued to stare at the doctor, expecting him to go on. "As preposterous as it sounds, Baron, the portal goes into another dimension using an Anti-Matter zone, and this world, unlike ours, is inhabited by... magical ponies."

It was kind of funny to see the Barons reaction to that, seeing his confused gaze turn to one of complete impatience.

"You have got to be kidding me." But the doctor shook his head. "Again, nien, Baron. The portal goes to a world of ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and other things from myth. So, when our men entered the portal, they turned into these ponies." The baron turned back to the circular machine. "So what is the point of this?"

The doctor nodded, approaching the device. "Well, with this machine, I hope to be able to harness the power of the Anti-Matter and bending it to our will, getting rid of these said... side effects." The Baron nodded, looking very pleased. "Excellent work, Doctor. I will have to recommend you to Hitler sometime. Any who, has the machine itself been properly finished."

Before the doctor could reply, a voice yelled a few feet away from us. He was an infantryman, his KAR 98 slung over his shoulder. He looked genuinely scared.

"Baron! Russian tanks! 9 miles out, and heading in our direction! We have to get out of here." The Barons amazement turned back to sheer terror, as he relayed orders to the private. "Tell everyone they need to fall back to our closest outpost. Send a mortar team towards the tanks also! Tell them to buy us some time."

The private saluted and ran off. The Baron turned back to the doctor. "We can not let this machine get into the hands of the Communists." The Doctor nodded, looking sadly at his machine. "We will have t destroy it."

The Baron looked startled. "What! We can't just destroy it. What about all our progress? All our work?" The doctor shrugged, pulling out a small rolled up parchment from his pocket. "This contains the instructions for the device, as well as all our research on Element 599 in this portal." The baron let out a defeated sigh, signaling to 2 of the shock troopers, who were both carrying MP-40s.

"Get some explosives. We need to cave the tunnel in. Also, get 2 more men to get the mirror out of here." The shock troopers saluted and went right to work. Suddenly, gunfire erupted outside, as well as a series of explosions. The Baron, startled, began running to the entrance of the cave, followed by the officer and the doctor.

Outside, a few hills over, a small line of Russian tanks were heading in there direction, Soviet Infantrymen charging and shouting in Russian. The baron ran for his car, and the driver, panicked, began to drive away. I watched as the Russians drew closer, there rifles firing and mowing down many of the German defenders. Then, I felt another white light hit my eyes, and I collapsed again.

When I regained consciousness, I found that I was still in the cave. When I stood, I looked with horror at the sight in front of me. Dead Germans and Russians littered the cave. Crates were blown open from explosions and the hundreds of bullets. Then, I saw some figures moving deeper in the cave, and quickly noted that they were Russians. They wore brown and green coats, with fur hats and the sickle and hammer embedded on there hats.

They were looking at something with particular interest. Curious, I went towards them. The whole back of the cave was caved in, so I assumed that they blew the machine. But the Russians seemed more interested in the small, wood framed mirror. 2 of the Russians picked it up and began taking it outside. Suddenly, a shout erupted behind me.

"Lieutenant-General Vladmir! (Authors Note: I looked it up. Lieutenant-General Vladmir Kachalov was commanding officer over the Russian 28th Army) I have found a German!" Vladmir turned around, and I saw that the German they had captured was the officer who had accompanied the doctor.

Vladmir approached the officer, looking at him with distaste. "What is the purpose of this mirror? It is so... out of place in a weapons cache." The officer looked up and spat at Vladmir, the spittle hitting his cheek. "Soviet scum! You will wish you had stayed in Stalingrad when our allies come!" Vladmir merely laughed at this, drawing a Tokrav pistol from a holster strapped to his chest.

"Actually, you will have wished to stay in Poland, Facist." And with that, Vladmir executed the officer, his limp corpse falling to the floor. "Sergeant! Get this mirror on a truck toStalingrad and have the rest if this cave searched for any more Germans. We need to move out and meet with the rest of the tank Divisions for aa final push to defeat what is left of the retreating Romanian and Bulgarian armies. Then finally, Germany."

The soldiers saluted and left. Vladmir turned again to the mirror, bending down and examining it. "Such beautiful designs... looks almost... ancient." Then, yet another searing white light hit my eyes, and I collapsed to the ground, succumbing to darkness.

"Joseph? Oh, Joseph! Wake up!" I slowly opened my eyes, looking into the eyes of Dawn Blade, who was hovering over me. No, she was literally hovering over me, her wings flapping faster than I could register. I rubbed my head and sat up. Dawn looked relieved to see me awake, landing on the ground with a soft sigh.

"Oh, praise Celestia, your alive! You had me really worried." I rubbed my eyes, trying to get all the white stars out of my vision. "What happened?" Dawn looked confused at my question, which quickly changed to one of understanding. "I should be asking you that. You kind of fainted and fell out of the sky. Before you hit the ground, I was able to pick you up and carry you to the cave. But you did hit your head once on the way down."

That would explain the ache. I was just now realizing the fact we were in a cave. I stood, approaching the mouth of the cave. We were still in the ravine. I looked back at her, smiling a bit.

"Thanks for saving me." She smiled back, her eyes closing in content. "It was nothing. We should probably get back to the town, though. You have been out for a few hours." I nodded, beginning to walk out of the cave and following a small trail up to the top of the ravine. I shook a little, remembering the dream. What did it mean?

"Oh, and Joseph. While you were knocked out, you kept twisting and turning, also murmuring a lot. What were you going through?" I shrugged. I didn't really know how to answer her. We eventually came to town after about 10 minutes of silence, parting ways once we reached the town. "Are you sure you are alright? I mean, we could check with a doctor..."

I raised my hand up, stopping her. "No, if there is anything wrong, I am sure Breaker will tell me. Thank you anyway though." She nodded, a frown on her face. "Yeah. See you later then." And with that, she flew off. I rubbed my aching head as I trudged up the apartment stairs. When I came to room 123, I entered and plopped down on the couch.

Breaker had to go out of town to complete some business, so I was helping out Mineral Flare. I checked the clock and groaned. 10:00. I didn't even realize how late we were. In a side room, Mineral silently came out of the room, most likely putting the kids down. She smiled when she saw me.

"How was your day?" I shook my head, rubbing my temple. "Great. It was just great."

**Cave outside of Border Town**

**Corporal Tallik Mallace**

I paced inside the cave, wondering what our next move would be. We had been here for almost 5 months, plotting on ways to get the assassin. After much observation and scouting, I still couldn't figure out a way to get past the ponies and get to him. I slammed my fist onto the table, which contained a completely detailed drawing of Border Town. The bad news was the Joseph was almost never alone. Those ponies would just not leave him alone, or abandon him, or... The idea struck so quickly I could barely keep my excitement down. Yes, it would work. If I were to get the ponies to stay away from Joseph... He would be all mine.


	10. Misunderstanding

**Chapter 8**

**Border Town, Equestria**

**Noon time**

**Joseph Aucleir**

I sighed, peace coursing through my body as I walked throughout the beautiful countryside. The sun was snaking over the horizon, leaving beautiful red glares on the trees. I am guessing in human time that it was February, and the snow was only now beginning to melt. It was very peaceful, seeing the snow mixed with the greening grass, as well as barren trees.

Dawn was gone for the day, as well as most of the other Pegasi. They were doing something with the clouds and such today, preparing for Spring. So, being a not-Pegasus, I decided to simply take a walk in the country, admiring everything I came across. These walks also helped me clear my mind, allowing me to think straight.

I was still being haunted by the weird dream that happened yesterday. Or was it a vision? I guess it would make sense if it was a vision, since it struck out of no-where. Well, it would explain where the portal had come from. But still, some things didn't add up. Seeing the portal only reminded me that I had to get back to my own world. That was when I stopped and stared forward, the thought that just came to my mind making me both angry and curious.

Why did I need to go back? I mean, what if my parent's murderers were already dead? Maybe I should let the past go. Then I shook my head. No. I made a vow, and as soon as I had fulfilled that vow, then I would hopefully return here. But then again, there is one thing standing in the way of that. The Oberherr.

They would never let me go back without a fight. But why? Why? Why did they need me? I shook my head, looking back out across the landscape. I sighed again. "If only I knew." I turned back, heading towards the town again.

**20 Yards away**

Mallace looked on at Joseph, watching as he began to head back to the town. "Sir, why don't we strike now? No one is in sight, and we are pretty close to the border." Mallace turned to the man who had spoken, who happened to be an Oberherr Elite private. "He could easily fight us off now. And we can't shoot him, because he is needed alive. We continue as planned."

But the private shook his head. "Sir, we have 20 men here, he isn't going to win." Mallace shrugged. "I want him to be at the lowest point he can be at, where he will give no struggle whatsoever. And we can do that if we continue as planned." Mallace reached up, his hand turning on the mic to his headset.

"Fire Team 1, this is Head Command. We are going to proceed with phase one of Operation Down Grade in 3 hours time. Make sure that the assassin is in the building when you commence." The headset was static for only a second, when the Fire Team responded, and Mallace could almost feel the Oberherr Elite's grin as he spoke.

"Roger, Mallace. We will make this a very hot time for him."

**Joseph Aucleir**

I could feel that I was being watched. They were definitely human eyes as well. Why were they not attacking? If they had a perfect time to strike, it would most definitely be now. I scratched my chin. I might as well not let them know that I notice. Then a thought occurred to me. What if they weren't trying to kill me? What if they were simply observing me. My bones chilled as I also thought of how great of an excuse that would be to why the Oberherr had not tried anything for several months. They were probably spying on me. Damn, I thought they were just leaving me alone. That apparently wasn't the case. I could still feel there eyes bore into me as I continued to walk. I accidentally put a little skip into my step, trying to go a little faster. I hoped they wouldn't notice

**26 yards away**

"He knows we are here?" The private said. Mallace nodded, watching as the assassin went a little faster than before. "What should we do?" The private stated nervously. "He might give away our position to the Equestrians..." I thought out loud, before slowly turning to the private. "I am going out there to have a chat with him." The private kind of stood there, his eyes behind his gas mask kind of humored, like I was kidding. After a few seconds, his humor died a bit. "Are you serious?" I nodded, standing up. "Tell everyone to hold there fire."

**Joseph Aucleir**

I turned to see one of the men coming my way, which made me both surprised and cautious. He was the only one that emerged, and he knew that he was probably going to get into a fight. But no, he simply walked towards me. He was unarmed, and had no sidearm from what I could visibly see. He did have a hunting knife on him, though, which was attached to his left calf. I would also not put it behind me to think that he might be carrying a fire arm in his jacket.

The man wore a black trench coat, with a gas mask, goggles, and a black hood, concealing his face completely. I was still wary, occasionally glancing at the hills behind him. There were no snipers, or reserve men. Just him. I began pulling out a knife in my back pocket when he was a few yards away, which made him stop in his tracks.

He lifted his hands into the air, as though he were surrendering. "Do not strike at me, assassin. I only wish to talk." I refused to ease up, continuing to stare at the man. We stared at each other for a little while, determining who would make the first move. The man sighed, reaching into his jacket and drawing his pistol. My knuckles clung a little tighter to the knife. But, instead of firing the pistol like I had thought, he instead threw it to the side, out of his arms reach.

I raised an eyebrow as his hand moved to his face, and he slowly removed his gas mask. His face was well tanned, with light brown, maybe even blonde, eye brows, and a small light brown mustache growing on his upper lip. His hands were at his sides as he sighed again.

"I merely want to talk to you. I have no intention of taking you with me, or even killing you. Just to talk." I lower the knife a little, looking quizzically at him.

"What do you want?" The man bit his lower lip, coughing a bit into his hand. "I have come here to give you a warning, and a little help." I raised my eyebrow at him, my shoulders relaxing a bit.

"A warning, or a threat?" The man shook his head. "A warning, based on your comparison. And before you ask, this is off the record. The Oberherr have nothing to do with our transaction." I was relaxed a little more, but my caution was still at max. "First, I will give the warning. The Oberherr absence will not last for much longer. They want you alive. And they are willing to do anything to get you back alive."

Nothing really new there. "But I can offer you help. Help out of this situation. All you have to do is come back willingly with us." I pulled my knife out again, startling the man a bit. "And why in the name of God would I do a thing like that? I was able to take out 4 of your men single handedly, and I could just as easily fight off anything else you throw at me."

I tried reading the mans facial expressions, surprised with what he gave me. It was a look of pity. And a little bit of worry, by the looks of it. "Listen, I cannot tell you why they want you alive, for I honestly don't know myself. But I can offer you some other things. For example, I know you are looking for information on your deceased parents."

That struck home with me, making me flinch a bit. I looked at him, and he returned my look. "What else do you have to offer? I could also easily go and interrogate your men for information." The man actually snorted at this, almost like he was attempting not to laugh.

"Yes, because that worked very well before for you in the past." I cast him a glare, which he seemed to not notice. " But back on topic, I am sure you want to leave this world. Come with me willingly, and I could offer you safe passage out of this land when we are done." My eyes narrowed. This didn't seem right.

"Why are you attempting to help me? I know you have men behind the rocks, and you could easily over run me. So why haven't you yet?" He seemed a little surprised at me, which quickly changed to an emotionless glare. "I just wanted to offer you help. Because I know the Oberherr are not necessarily the most... hospitable. I was trying to make an offer." I shook my head, turning around as I did. "No. I am happy here. And I can find information about my parents..."

I cringed a bit as I said this, "…. from other sources." The man sighed, putting his goggles and gas mask back on, but stopped when he held something in his hand. His headset. He covered the mic with his hand as he looked me in the eyes.

"I envy you, assassin. I hope you can truly have happiness in this land." With that, he put the headset on, and waived his fist in the air. "Heil Oberherr!" He said, and began walking back towards the hills of where he came from. I stared after him, and began to walk away. I stopped when I saw his pistol lying on the ground, which I scooped up and put into my jacket.

As I walked, I began to contemplate all that he had said. Why was he trying to be nice to me? I turned again, to see that he was completely gone from my sight. Flurries began to fall from the skies, which was odd, since the pegasi were preparing for spring. I turned again and began to walk, shivering a little. I was still being watched. But what chilled my spine was that it was not a human watching. They were eyes from the sky.

Right above me.

**5 Minutes ago**

**Dawn Blade**

I silently watched as the 2 humans conversed with one another, talking. I gritted my teeth a bit, furious at what I was seeing. Was Joseph, one of my best friends, just an agent for the Oberherr this whole time? Were these 2 pieces of scum working together, plotting on the invasion of Equestria? Then, I jerked my head suddenly, a tear forming in my eye.

What in the name of Tartarus was I thinking? Joseph couldn't possibly be a double agent. It isn't possible. I imagined his face, smiling and laughing in the canyon, his black hair waving in the breeze. And then I looked down at the two men, who seemed to be in polite conversation. Was that same man, the man I had come to appreciate and call a friend over the past few months, the same man that was down there, talking to an Oberherr soldier?

Something caught my eye, and I looked down to see what it was. It was a glint of glass reflecting the sun. I looked to see something in the yellow, tall grass. It was aman, but he was wearing a suit made of the same grasses. The glass was on a gun, which matched the one that had killed the 2 human prisoners a few days after Joseph had arrived.

He was just sitting there, watching like me. Then, my attention was drawn away from the man as I saw something happening between the 2 men. One had his arm in the air, and screamed something that I couldn't hear, and with that, he turned and began walking towards a hill. Joseph turned around as well, only stopping to pick up something from the ground.

Silent tears were going down my eyes, the thought of Joseph possibly being the enemy being unbearable. My tears, as they fell, began turning into snow, most likely from the high altitude I was at. I watched as Joseph continued walking, when he suddenly stopped. I ducked behind my cloud, holding my breath as he suddenly looked to the sky.

After a minute or so, I looked down again to see that he had moved on, looking a little weary. What do I do? I slowly began to turn angry, angry enough to have the courage to do what I was about to do. I jumped from my cloud, landing silently behind Joseph.

"Hey!" I said with as much venom as I could that I wanted to sound mean, but I felt that being angry was the only way to stop myself from crying. Joseph froze in his tracks, turning slowly to me, a look of surprise and fear on his face. His face then paled as he realized who I was, making me even more angry. I fluttered a bit in the air and did something that I probably shouldn't have done, and I would regret doing for the rest of my life. Using my hind legs, I air kicked him in the chest. Hard.

**Joseph Aucleir**

It came as a surprise to me when I heard Dawn speak behind me. But then my surprise went to a whole new level when she began attacking me. It started with a kick, in which I fell over onto the melting snow. Before I could ask what was going on, she tried to kick my face, which I quickly rolled away from.

"Dawn! What has gotten into you?" And then I looked into her eyes. They were ablaze with fury, anger and... betrayal. She was seething as well. When she spoke next, it was a mixture of crying and yelling.

"You are a traitor! You are working with those evil people!" I stopped, rubbing my aching chest.

"What are you talking about? I am not league with the Oberherr!" She charged again, and I had no time to dodge before she rammed head first into my legs, making me fall to the ground.

I spit snow out of my mouth, trying to stand again as she snarled, "Of course you would deny it! I just saw you, PLOTTING with one of them! And don't try to 'explain' it to me! I know what I saw."

Tears were streaming down here face. "How could you do this to us? To ME? I thought we were friends. I am sure that was a lie to, no doubt. You are nothing but a spy!" With that she charged again, which I rolled away from, but yelled out as she still nicked my back, and I hit the ground. I looked and saw sweat dripping from her forehead, mixing with her tears.

"But I swear, Dawn! I am not working for them! If you would let me explain, then you would see..."

She did no such thing, she was to far gone in her anger. With a scream she prepared to charge again. "Dawn, I don't want to hurt you. Stand down!"

She laughed at this, a small, bitter laugh. "Oh really? Then go ahead! Don't strike at me! I will show no such mercy to the enemies of Equestria!" And with a war cry, she charged again, her wings propelling her off the ground, aiming for the head. I put my hands up, ready to defend myself. She was within range, and I struck out.

My fist landed with her face, hitting her square in the eye. She fell to the ground a few feet away from me. I instantly felt regret. What had I done? "Dawn, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to..." She laughed bitterly again, facing me again, her tears gone, replaced with pure hatred.

"Is that all you got, human? I didn't realize how weak you could hit." I closed my eyes, realizing that she was trying to taunt me. The horrid part was that it was working. A tear appeared in my eye as I lifted my hands again. "That was a warning shot." Dawn spit a little blood from her mouth, sneering at me. "Show me what you really have then, Joseph." She said my name with a little extra venom.

And with that, she charged again, and I prepared to defend myself.


	11. Fire

**Chapter 9**

**A few miles from Border Town, Equestria**

**Noon Time**

**Joseph Aucleir**

Dawn made the first move, charging at me, screaming a war cry. I also charged, taking her by surprise. We rammed into each, though I was the one pushed back by the sheer force of Dawns charge. She was strong for her age, or maybe it was her rage that gave her extra strength. I fell to the ground, Dawn on top of me.

She lifted a hoof and brought the soft but firm appendage down on my face, striking me right on the nose. She brought her other hoof into the air, ready to strike again. Out of pure instinct, I drew a knife from my back pocket. But, instead of using the blade on her, I rammed the butt of the knife into her side. She fell off of me with a grunt, rolling away and attempting to stand again.

By the look on her face, I could tell she was never going to relent till I was defeated. Or dead.

"Dawn, stop this madness! It doesn't have to be this way." She struggled onto her feet, and saw the knife in my hand.

"Playing dirty now, are we?" Instead of charging as she had before, she surprised me with a new tactic.

"Well, two can play at that game." Instead of ramming into me again, she began to slowly walk in circles around me. At this point, the flurries began to come down even harder, resulting in normal snow storm weather. She continued to pace circles around me, and I tried to figure out what she was doing.

Her eyes were puffy and red, tears still coming from them, and her left eye was also beginning to swell from when I had punched her. I began to get paranoid. Why wasn't she striking? Her movements suggested that she would strike at any moment, but that moment never came. And then it struck me as to what she was doing.

Psychological warfare. She wanted me to strike first, she wanted to see me attempt to hurt her, put me on the offensive. And I would refuse to satisfy her. I would not let her mind games get the best of me. But slowly, they became more and more effective.

1 Minute passed. Then 2. The snow began coming down harder and faster, until I could barely see anything. I large clump of snow hit my eyes, making me look away for a second. I rubbed the snow out with my fist, looking up quickly. But Dawn was nowhere to be seen.

"You used me." Dawn's voice echoed throughout the storm. Suddenly, a flash of red came out of nowhere and hit me in the face, making me stumble a bit. But as soon as the red streak had arrived, it was gone.

"You lied to me!" Her voice was becoming more and more angry as she said each accusation. Another blur of red light, which knocked me to the ground. Judging from the past two attacks, I could guess where she was going to dash from next.

"And you betrayed me!" I ducked as soon as she spoke. Sure enough, the red streak emerged from the blizzard, coming where I was last at. She passed over me and I made my counter attack. Jumping up quickly, I caught Dawn in a roundhouse kick. I made contact, and she went flying just to the left of me. As soon as I disrupted her focus, the blizzard reduced itself to the small snow fall that had happened earlier.

When she was going in circles, she must have been concentrating the storm on our specific position. I collapsed to the floor, exhaustion overtaking me. Something wet was falling from my cheek, and I quickly put my hand, wincing. When she had struck my face, she must have cut it, resulting in my cheek bleeding. I stood and slowly walked over to Dawn.

She was on the ground, breathing heavily. My kick must have winded her pretty hard. She looked at me, tears still in her eyes. She was sobbing, her sobs reaching my heart and instilling guilt. She sniffed, wiping the tears from her eyes. She looked up me, a defiant look in her eyes.

"Finish it, traitor. End my life." Her voice was full of venom and hostility. I shook my head, back away from her. She stared at me for a second, before jumping to her feet, seething.

"What are you doing? Finish me! Put me out of my misery. You have hurt me enough, at least give me a warriors death." Again, I shook my head.

"I will say it again, and continue saying it until you either understand or end me. I am not working for the Oberherr, and I am your friend." Her face changed then. Her face showed complete surprise, as well as a little regret. She then twitched, her face returning back to the way it was before.

"No, Joseph. I know what you are. And I will end you... for... it." She gasped a little as she readied to charge. She was weak. I could easily have knocked her out, and explained it to her when she had a clear head. But then something happened. Something in my heart said something, something that completely took me by surprise.

My heart told me to prove to her that I am a friend. And the only way to do that was... I sighed, looking her in the eyes. I opened my arms wide, almost in an inviting way.

Dawn looked confused at my gesture, saying, "What are you doing?" I closed my eyes and sighed.

"I will not defend myself. If you don't trust me, then I must prove to you who I am." She still looked confused, which quickly turned back to anger as she charged. Her wings spread open as she flew to my face, using her hoofs to throw punches. Punch after punch hit my face , and I slowly felt my face begin to swell from the sheer number that Dawn was laying into me.

But as I continued to look into Dawns eyes, I saw the fight leaving her. Her punches became weaker, not as strong or backed up as the last, until finally she stopped altogether.

"Why are you doing this? Why do you take my attacks, and make no reactions towards them?" I looked down on her, wincing at the stinging pain in my face.

"Because a friend doesn't hurt another friend." Dawns mouth opened, then closed. Then she began to cry. She fell apart, falling to the snow and crying into it, muttering to herself.

"What have I done?" She would keep repeating that phrase. I sat beside her and stroked her mane, not really knowing how to comfort her. I began whispering words of encouragement to her, continuing to stroke her mane. I picked up her sobbing form and put her on my lap, still comforting her and stroking her mane. After about 5 minutes, her body stopped stuttering, and her crying eased down. She sniffed once and looked me in the eyes.

"I...I...I am sorry I didn't trust you. I should have listened to you... I...I...I should have..." I hushed her, holding her a little more closely to me. "You don't have to apologize for anything. You were only doing what you thought was right. You thought I had betrayed you." She sniffled a little more before jumping off my lap, sitting on the ground and facing the now setting sun, her ears drooping.

"What the hell kind of friend am I? I wouldn't listen, and I attacked you." This was probably the first time I had ever heard a pony curse, but that wasn't what was important at the moment. I stood and went over to comfort her, putting a hand on her shoulder, which she quickly backed away from.

"But then there is you! You wouldn't stop trying to tell me, you still had faith I would listen. If anyone is a true hero here, it is you." She sighed, turning her back to me again. I sat down next to her, again putting my hand on her shoulder. She flinched a bit, but didn't shoo me off this time.

"Listen, Dawn. We are friends, and I would never let that fact go. You did what you did based on what you saw, and I should be the one apologizing for attacking YOU. So hey, we even?" She looked at me and smiled a bit, her bruises on her face dimming a bit. Then she did something that completely surprised me, but something that I wouldn't say that I didn't like.

She leaned up and kissed me on the cheek, making my cheeks blush a deep crimson. She then lowered her face to my ear and whispered, "We are even." We stared into each others eyes, and I felt something in my heart.

Was it a tug? No, I couldn't be falling in love with a pony. Could I? Well, Breaker did with Mineral Flare... Suddenly, Dawn broke eye contact, focusing on something behind me.

"The sun is almost gone. We should probably get home." I nodded, standing up. The walk back to the town was silent, Dawn not saying a word. I still felt guilty, but I didn't know why. She had accused me, and now she saw she was wrong, andwas feeling guilt over it. She did seem very quick to come to the conclusion I was a traitor.

But if I was Dawn in the same situation, I probably would have reacted the same way. I looked at Dawn as we entered the town. Her usually perky face was now deep and solemn, and I could tell she was deep in thought. It was probably good for her to get some rest, and I wouldn't object to some sleep either. I checked the time and saw it was only 8:24.

I looked at her and sighed. "You still have a few hours until your Patrol shift. You should get some rest, maybe get some of those cuts looked at." She winced at that, bringing a hoof up to her face where I had given her a pretty nasty cut. When she spoke, her voice had lost all its happiness, instead being deep and sad.

"Yeah, you should probably get yourself looked at as well." I nod, waving goodbye to her. She didn't return the gesture, instead trudging down the road to the military base. Her wings were drooping at her side, and that pang in my heart came back. I shook my head, turning to head back to the apartment.

Within 3 minutes, I had opened the door to Apartment room 123. I walked in and was surprised to see Breaker standing by the window, looking outside. "So, how was your walk?" I shrugged and plopped on the sofa. Breaker fully turned to me and his eyes widened. "Bloody hell, Joseph! You look horrible! Especially that eye. Lie down, and I will take a look at you." I groaned as he shoved me onto my back and began looking at my injuries. "What did this to you?" I sighed as he began looking at my swollen cheek.

"Dawn Blade."

**Border Town**

**3 hours later**

Night had fallen over Equestria, the moon shining beautiful rays of light across the land. Most of the ponies had fallen asleep, enjoying the bliss of dreams, and the brief escape from reality. Most of them. On the streets of Border Town, near the brick apartment, 4 shadows weaved through the darkness, ducking from shadow to shadow, slowly approaching the apartment.

They were human, who wore pure black clothes, which blended in with the shadows that covered them from sight. All were armed, besides one, with USB. Pistols. The last man was carrying a heavy satchel, filled with bottles of alcohol. Inside each bottle was a flammable piece of clothe. Molotav Cocktails.

"Stay silent! We are almost there." The man in the lead hissed to the others, who all nodded in response. Looking around quickly, he signaled to his men, and they all made a dash for the building. Crouching low, they went around to the back of the building, coming across a wooden hatch in the ground. The armed men forming a secure perimeter around the hatch, the man with the Molotovs opened it, and, taking out a flashlight, began descending into the dark hatch.

"Clear." The man said as he switched on a light switch in the basement of the apartment. The 3 other men soon followed still aiming their pistols, eyes wide and alert behind their behind their masks. The men slowly descended down the stairs, entering a brightly lit room. The room was filled with boilers, wires, and electrical boxes.

The men secured a defensive perimeter in the small room, while the man with the molotovs went to work. He brought out one of the cocktails, placing it in-between a nook in the boilers. He continued to place the explosives, until his satchel was nearly empty. That was when the leader of the men threw his hand into the air.

"Something's coming!" He hissed to the others, who quickly went to hide behind the boilers. Hoof steps could be heard coming down the stairs, and the leader of the men signaled to take weapons off of safety. 2 ponies came down the steps, both dressed in the common attire of the Equestrian Military Police.

"Who left the lights on down here?" One of them grumbled, heading towards the light switch. He was a light furred pegasus with green eyes. The other, who was a darker colored pegasus, suddenly started heading towards the boilers.

"Wait a second, Dagger. I see something over here, in the boilers." The leader of the men signaled to his men to engage, and they did it so fast that the 2 EMPs didn't even see them. The men fired silent rounds at the pegasus, instantly striking the one approaching the boilers dead. But the other one responded faster, flying directly at the men, nimbly dodging the pistol bullets.

He rammed into the first mans skull, almost instanty knocking him out. The pegasus then kicked his hind legs out, making another man stumble. The man lost his balance and fell onto the boiler, making his skin sizzle. Before he could scream and give away their position, the leader shot him, shutting the man up immediately.

He then rounded on the pegasus, kicking him in the jaw. The pegasus fell from the air, hitting the concrete ground. Before the pegasus could recover, the leader shot a bullet into his skull. Spitting with disgust, the leader turned to his last remaining man.

"Get some gunpowder from the cocktails to a safe distance, and I will grab our unconscious man. It is time we blow this joint."

**Joseph Auclier**

It was that same feeling. That same gut feeling that I was in danger. I got out of my bed, rubbing my eyes. It was 11:45, and I was still tired as hell. Getting out of my bed, I went over to my window, looking outside, wincing as I moved. I looked outside and saw nothing. Then something caught my eye. Something on the bottom floor was letting off an awful amount of light. Pretty strong candles to be making that much light... and then the smell hit my nose.

Burning wood. And smoke. I gasped as smoke began seeping underneath my door.

"Fire!" I yelled coughing a bit at the smoke. I dashed to my door, almost breaking it down when I rammed into it. Screams were being heard outside the room, as well as the trampling of many hooves. I began going for the door, when I heard coughing. Turning around, I ran into Mineral and Breakers room.

They were both on the ground, coughing profusely. I dropped to the ground, barely making it below the smoke cloud. I saw Breaker unconscious, the fumes most likely making him unable to breath. Mineral was right next to him, poking him weakly, telling him to get up in a husky voice. I crawled over to them, heaving Breaker over my shoulder. I went over to the window and opened it. Ponies were gathering outside, screaming, calling for help.

I coughed again, then shouted out, "Hey! We need some assistance over here!" To my surprise, a Pegasus flew up. It was Dawn.

"Dawn! I have two people here I need to get out of here." She seemed hesitant, sweating a lot. The fire was slowly making progress up the building, by now reaching the second floor.

I slung Breaker off of my shoulder, Dawn placing her hoofs under his arm. I shoved him out the window, and Dawn groaned from the massive wait she was suddenly carrying. By now, five more MP pegasi had arrived, and helped Dawn carry Breaker to the ground. I turned and went to Mineral, who I lifted with ease. Carrying her to the window, another MP showed up and took a hold of her body, carrying her out. Dawn was back up now, panic in her eyes.

"Joseph, jump! I have you!" I probably shouldn't have, but I jumped, and started falling. Then, I began flying again when Dawn and another MP slowly carried me to the ground.

I landed on the ground with a thud, and quickly stood, dusting myself off. I looked up and saw as the fire was halfway to reaching the third floor. I went over to Mineral and Breaker, who were still unconscious on the ground. Suddenly, Mineral began coughing, her eyes shooting open.

"Where are my babies?!" She almost screamed. My eyes opened as I realized I my error. I turned and began running to the building, Dawn close on my heels.

"How could you leave them?" Dawn asked, her voice frantic. I scowled at her as I continued running. Maybe it was the heat of the moment. I then stopped as I came upon a separation in the crowd of ponies. A line of MPs were keeping the crowd away from the building, stopping them from entering. Dawn shot forward, only to be tackled by one of the MPs.

"Dawn, stop! The fire is too hot, it will consume you." Dawn continued to struggle. I ran after her, actually breaking the police line. Dawns eyes widened when she saw me.

"Joseph!" She screamed, but it was too late. I rammed down the door to the apartment, shielding my eyes as fire in the lobby crackled at me.

Charging through the fire, I wondered what the hell I was doing. I was going to die if I continued. But at the same time, if I got out now, I would still die. I would die on the inside. Ijumped through a wall of flames as I began ascending the stairs leading upwards. Better to die with a cause, I thought, then to live without one.

I continued to climb the stairs, finally reaching the third floor. It was engulfed with flames, the crackling of the fire blinding me and giving me small burns. Despite the pain, I continued on, ramming down the door to room 123.

As soon as I entered, I could hear the crying of a child. Two of them, to be specific. I ran into the room, relieved to see that not too much smoke had entered yet. I went over to the cradles, seeing Colby and River crying. I picked up the human baby and made my way to the window, opening it and calling out. Dawn looked up and saw me, flying up to me.

I handed her the baby, and she took him down to Mineral. I ran back and picked up the filly, who wasn't crying, but was staring at me with very big eyes. Hugging him close I ran to the window, where Dawn was waiting, I was about to give him to her when things suddenly turned for the worst. Dawn looked up and gasped.

"Get back!" She screamed, just as the roof near the window collapsed. I barely had enough time to jump out of the way as the window was cover with debris. "Joseph, are you alright?" She yelled through the crackling fire.

"I am fine! Just get back. I will find my own way out." I looked down at River, who was hugging me very tightly. I ran out of the room, looking around the room in panic. I saw another window and ran towards it. I suddenly screamed and fell to the ground as some debris landed on my leg, making it bend sideways. I collapsed, the filly falling from my grasp.

I gripped my leg, groaning as the pain coursed through my body. I felt something beside me, and I turned to see River nudging me, trying to get me up. His eyes were filled with fear, but at the same time, filled with courage. A tear escaped my eye as I began crawling towards the window. Then the floor gave way, making me and the filly fall to the next floor.

I groaned as I hit the ground, looking over to the now unconscious filly. My mind was completely blurry, and I could barely make anything out of my surroundings. I looked up and stared as the fourth floor began creaking, getting ready to completely give way. Then it did. Time seemed to slow as the debris fell, slowly coming at me.

"Get down!" I yelled to the filly, as I brought him under my body, turning it into a living shield. If we were going to die, I was going to die saving Rivers life.

Then the roof collapsed on top of me, burying me alive.

**A mile outside of Border Town**

Mallace stared through his binoculars, shocked at what had just happened. The plan was for Joseph to escape, make a few pony casualties, and make the town give him up on threat of more attacks. Mallace had not expected Joseph to run back into the apartment. And as he watched the building collapse, he turned to the leader of the expedition. "You had better pray that Joseph survived this. Because if he dies, I will report that his death is on your hands!" The captain stared back, fear portrayed in his eyes. "He wasn't supposed to go back in! What was so important for him to risk his life on?" Mallace looked through his binoculars again.

"Whatever it was, you had better hope that Joseph survives to be able to say WHY he went back in there!"


	12. The Perfect Plan

**Chapter 10**

**Border Town, Equestria**

**5 Minutes after building collapsed**

**Dawn Blade, Equestrian Air Force**

Just a few hours previously, I was simply sitting in my bed, unable to sleep. Something was nagging at me, and it wouldn't go away. Everything that had happened this afternoon left me feeling empty, distraught, and furious. But not at Joseph. I was furious with myself. Joseph was supposed to be my friend, yet I was so quick to anger against him. I completely degraded everything he said, instead of listening. I was so caught up into my anger that I even began to HATE him.

Until the end. He proved to me he was my friend, which I was too blind to realize. What a fool I had been. And then the fire happened. I was called from patrol almost as soon as the alert was signaled, and I was probably the one to arrive the fastest.

I helped with the evacuations, and then I saw it. I saw a sacrifice that would never have been committed by a traitor. Joseph sacrificed his life to save 2 fillies. I was still in shock when a voice called out to me.

"Dawn, can I see you for a second!" Shaking my head, I rushed over to Sergeant Hoof, who was currently looking through the debris of the building.

"Any sign of him?" I asked, fear apparent in my shrill voice. The sergeant sighed, shaking his head.

"Negative, our ponies are still looking, but there is something I need you to see, and possibly take over to analysis." I cocked my head, following the Sergeant to what used to be the rear of the building. I looked and saw a hole going into the ground, which had caved in when the building collapsed.

"The boiler room? Why are we here?" The Sergeant turned back towards me, giving a sigh.

"Our ponies just found 2 Military Police that had gone missing before the incident happened. Both dead." I saw the two bodies, sprawled out and awaiting to be taken away.

"What does this have to do with anything? We need to find Joseph." I said, almost shouting. The Sergeant looked a little taken back, but quickly put on his best military look as he looked me in the eyes.

"These ponies were not killed from the cave in." I ran what he just said hrough my head a few times, trying to make a connection. Then it hit me so hard that I could practically feel my eyes widening in shock.

"The fire was not an accident? Is that what you are saying?" The Sergeant shrugged, looking at the two dead pegasi on the ground.

"It is just a hunch, but we have found that they were dead long before the building caved in." I continued to stare into his eyes, preparing to finish his though.

"Arson."

The Sergeant nodded. "Someone wanted someone else dead. Or scared." I was about to ask more, when a voice shouted from the other side of the debris.

"Sergeant! I need you and Dawn over here now!" Flapping our wings we both flew over the destroyed building towards the voice, my heart pounding inside of my chest. Had they found a body? It was still night time, and the stars were shining brightly, but barely gave enough light to see anything. The square was still lit, however, from the still burning debris of the fallen building. A young pegasus in blue digital military camouflage was waving at us, signaling us over.

We landed next to him, staring at him intently. The private was standing next to a large slab of rock, which was currently being lifted up by 3 or 4 other military units. I gasped at what I saw under the slab. It was Joseph, laying there, curled up around something. I quickly rushed forward, the Sergeant and private close behind.

I knelt over his body and put my head to his chest. A tear came out of my eye as I heard no breathing. The Sergeant came over and glanced at the body, and he cringed a bit at the sight of Joseph.

"He was a good man." The Sergeant whispered. Suddenly, I heard foot steps behind me, and I turned to see Breaker approaching. His run turned into a slow walk as he saw Joseph, his mouth hanging open a little bit. "Is he..." Breaker started, and I shook my head, trying with all my might to stop myself from crying.

"He isn't breathing." Breaker went to approach the body, then stopped, as if hesitant. "I can look at him better if we can get him from under that slab." The Sergeant grunted, nodding to a corporal and one of his troopers to help get the body out. I went to help to, getting closer to Joseph. He smelled of ashes, as well as a mixture of paint.

Grabbing the scruff of his jacket, me and the pegasi began tugging his body out of the rubble, when I stopped. When we moved him, a small mumble erupted from his still curled up body. The other ponies and man must have heard as well, for they all turned to the noise, startled a little. The noise happened again, and I identified it as being near the stomach area. "Uncurl his body." The Sergeant said. The two other military ponies went to work, uncurling Josephs body.

My mouth dropped as I saw a miracle. A small, ice blue filly rolled from Josephs jacket, his small body coughing a little bit. His blue skin as matted in ash, and his breathing was really ragged. But the most amazing thing was that the filly was alive. Breaker looked the most startled, as he slowly approached the filly, picking him up.

"River!" He suddenly cried out, and he hugged the little filly close.

"Incredible." The Sergeant whispered. I continued to stare as Breaker ran to his wife, Mineral Flare. It was so touching to see Minerals happy cry as she embraced her lost son, who had passed out. I then remembered Joseph, and turned to him. His eyes were closed, and I slowly approached his body. No one was looking, as they were engulfed at the touching reunion. I sat beside Josephs body, the happiness of the alive filly leaving me, being replaced with a horrified depression.

"Oh, Joseph." I said, sniffling a little. "There were so many things I wanted to tell you... and apologize for." Celestia damn, why were my last words to words of scorn? I lost control of myself then, and I laid my head on his chest, silently crying. After a minute, I lifted my head and approached his face. His handsome face, with that darkened skin, black matted hair...

"I loved you." I silently said, another sob racking my body.

"I loved you, and our last day together was us literally fighting." Bending down, I placed my lips on his. His lips were sweet and warm, which was still weird. I sighed, detaching from him.

That was when the second miracle of the night came. Josephs eyes suddenly shot open, and his body began to jerk around. I yelped a little, jumping away from surprise.

Josephs body continued to jerk around a little more, before finally stopping. He looked me in the eyes, and he seemed to be mouthing something, but I couldn't tell what he was saying. My tears were gone instantly, replaced with pure shock. "He is alive!" I practically screamed. All eyes turned to me, startled.

"Dear Celestia, he is alive!" The first one to recover from their shock was Breaker, who seconds later was by my side, examining Joseph. His mouth curled into a smile and he looked to the sky.

"Thank you, Lord Jesus! Hey, I need a medic over here!" He picked up Josephs body and began taking him to the other ponies, who were now staring in awe. I began to cry again, but instead of tears of sorrow, these were tears of relief. Tears of joy that my best friend had survived the impossible.

**A few miles away**

The snipers mouth dropped as he looked through the scope of his rifle, seeing the human, Breaker taking away a convulsing Joseph. "Corporal Mallace, this is Sniper G6, do you copy over?" A silence filled the earpiece, until Mallace's voice illed the radio waves.

"This is Corporal Mallace. Go ahead, Sniper G6" The sniper then proceeded to tell Mallace everything that had just happened, included the strange scene between the maroon pegasus and the supposed dead body of Joseph. And that was also the only point that Mallace interrupted. "She did what?" Mallace seemed genuinely disgusted by what he had just heard.

The sniper heard Mallace cough a little, before saying, "Please, continue." Then his disgusted sigh turned to one of surprise at the prospect that Joseph was still alive. A silence filled the radio waves as Mallace began thinking. He then broke the silence by saying, "How long have you been monitoring Joseph?"

"About 2 months. Why?" Again, Mallace became silent, but he silence was shorter as he asked a question that genuinely caught me off guard. "How much would you say Joseph cares for the pegasus?"

"Well, there was the incident in which they were fighting. But you were there for that. In general, however, I would say that they hang out a lot." I heard another eirie silence, but I could almost see Mallace smiling. "Continue watching the target. Make sure that he stays alive for the next step to work."

"You mean we are still going to blow up the Pegasus Barracks?" Mallace laughed through the earpiece. "No, we are not. We need not cause more casualties then needed. No, I have the perfect idea for drawing Joseph out willingly. And the perfect part of it is that that maroon Pegasus showed me exactly how to do it."

**3 Weeks Later**

**Border Town Hospital**

**Near night**

**Joseph Auclier**

That was probably the most painful thing I had ever endured. Getting crushed by a building was not something I would ever recommend to anyone. What was really surprising was how well I had come out. Within a matter of weeks, I was well enough to walk around again. But Breaker said he wouldn't recommend I do that.

He said that I had shattered bits of my lower spine, which, in theory should have crippled me for life. But somehow, my spine was able to function properly. But Breaker still warned that if something disturbs my spine like that again, he could not guarantee I would come out unscathed.

I stood from my hospital bed, stretching and cringing as my back creaked. While my back was healed, it still ached like hell, despite it being several weeks. I opened the door to my room, resisting the urge to stretch again. I began walking down the hall, and eventually found Breaker.

"Hey, where is Dawn?" Breaker looked up from some papers in his hand and shrugged. "I believe she is on patrol. You know, the amount of security has increased since the incident." I winced a little, knowing exactly what he meant. Breaker then proceeded to pull a small key from out of his pocket, handing it to me. I looked down at it, then back at him.

"What is this for?" He smiled a little at me as he pointed to it. "That is your new house key. You officially now have your own house to stay in." I looked at the key shocked. "Why?" Breaker shrugged. "I bought it for you as sort of a payback for saving my son, which I am still indebted to you for..." I stopped him by putting my hand on his shoulder.

"Stop. You are not indebted to me or whatever. Just consider it a friend helping another." Breaker actually smiled brighter at that, then looked down at his papers again. "I gotta go. You can go check out your new lodgings now, if you like!" I thanked Breaker and exited the hospital. I shielded my eyes a bit from the blinding sun, which was now setting over the Equestrian Mountains. I sighed slightly, and looked at the address. I was surprised at how close it was, only a small away from the hospital and the barracks.

When I saw the house, I was genuinely surprised at it. It was medium sized, with 4 circle windows, a thatch roof, and brick walls. It was the color blue, and had a nice, orange door. I approached the door, putting my key inside the key slot, and turned. There was a clicking sound, and I entered the house. It was a single story house, with a living room, 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, and a basement. It was a nice and simple area, perfect for me. I went over to the couch, which was decorated in little pegasi.

I plopped down on it. The couch faced a small fireplace, which was not lit. I sighed and began snuggling into the couch. Despite my life constantly being threatened, this really was a good life. And I never wanted it to end.

**A few Miles away**

Corporal Malace, this is sniper G6. The target had entered the house He is alone."

"Excellent. I will get the unicorn, and the plan will commence. I need you to keep an eye on him the whole time. Make sure he doesn't try anything funny.

**Joseph Auclier**

I was close to falling asleep on the couch, when a sudden whirring noise filled the room. I opened my eyes, and almost shouted with shock at what was happening.

A mini tornado was in my room, covering something from my view. I looked away as it exploded into a bright light. When I turned back, I was surprised at what I saw. There, in the center of my room, was Mallace. But at the same time, he wasn't there. His image seemed distorted, like a hologram. Mallace smiled at me, folding his hands behind his back.

"Joseph! Glad to see you are getting better. Though it does make me wonder how you survived that building collapsing." My shocked face turned to one of anger in an instant, getting to my feet in a violent way. "You are the one who started that fire!" Mallace didn't even seem remotely fazed by me standing up, instead keeping up his smug face.

"Yes, but I was quite surprised to see you go back inside the building. What was so important to go back in there, anyway?" I was still fuming as he looked at me, his eyes wide in mock questioning. I looked at him with defiance, as I gave my mind blowing replied. "If I hadn't gone back in, two children would have died."

This got the reaction I was hoping for. His smug grin disappeared, turning completely serious. He was very quick to get off that topic. "The whole point of that endeavor was to get a point across. Unless you came willingly, ponies would be hurt. Has your mind changed at all?" I smirked at him, sitting down and crossing my legs.

"Nope." He seemed to get angry, but looked as though he were trying really hard to restrain himself. He breathed in deeply and looked at me. "I didn't want to have to pull this card out..."

My smirk vanished. "What do you mean?" His look never left as he turned behind him, nodding to someone that wasn't in my view. Suddenly, an image appeared next to him. It was portal like, and was showing an image. I caught my breath as I saw who it was.

It was Dawn Blade. She was walking around some trees, looking to not have a care in the world. Beside her were 2 other pegasi, and it would appear as they were all on patrol.

"This, Joseph, is a live feed from one of my men's sniper scopes." My breath hitched for a second, shock and horror running throughout me. So here is my offer to you. Either you surrender peacefully, or I order my man to place a bullet into each member of that patrols head. So?

What will it be then, Assassin?"


	13. Crossover and Competition!

Authors Note: Greetings, Loyal Readers! I am here today to ask a very simple question to you. See, I am in the middle of writing my story, Storm Rising, and am about 7 chapter away from finishing it. So, an idea struck me. Out of thin air. on top of working on Storm Rising, I have decided to write a crossover. Since Star Wars Rebels came out to Disney XD (And I love it so far!), I have become a total nerd for Star Wars again. So, I was thinking of writing a Star Wars MLP Crossover! This will not be related to the Oberherr universe, and the crossover will take place about 3 years after the defeat of Tirek, and the rise of the Princess of Magic (Spoilers!). So, What do you think of the idea? I want EVERYONE WHO IS READING THIS TO COMMENT! Is this a good idea or not. I have come up with so many ideas for this crossover, I just have to put them on paper. I will probably do it whether you like it or not, but I just want to know how many people would actually be willing to read it. Oh, and if I do decide to do it, I have a competition for you guys. Yes, a competition! How exciting. SO, you will have to PM me for this. I want you guys to give me a title for the new crossover. If I like it, I will officially let the winner read the chapter a WEEK before it comes out. You heard right. A WEEK! So, I am going to end the transmission here, and let you guys do the rest. Thank you all! Hail to the Empire!


	14. Defeat

**Chapter 11**

**Border Town, Equestria**

**Night**

**Joseph Auclier**

I stared at Malace, pondering his proposal. Part of me wanted to dash out and let them take me. The other part made me think they were bluffing. They wouldn't make that large of a gamble. Didn't they know that if she died, I would literally be gone. Period. I would disappear under the radar. I have done it before, in previous assassin missions in Peru. Surely these people knew this?

"You are taking a very big risk by threatening Dawn, you know." Malace laughed a little at my attempt to sound courageous.

"Oh trust me, Joseph. We know all of your tactics. Even as we speak, you are being carefully watched. If we kill her, we still know where you are, and where you will be, at all times."

So, I was being watched? For how long? And where was my observer? I shook my head, trying to keep my face calm for Malace. But I would be lying to myself if I said that I wasn't scared. Not for myself, but for Dawn.

"Do you really know all of my tactics, Malace? Or are you just bluffing?" Malaces grin vanished replaced with an impatient look.

"You are stalling, Joseph. May I remind you that time is not your ally in this case. Here, let me make this little transaction go a little quicker. I will give you a good 10 stand where our last conversation took place. If you are not there in 10 minutes, you will get to see Dawn as a corpse. As well as the rest of her squad. 10 MINUTES!"

And with that final shout, the picture of Malace dissipated in front of me. I continued to stare forward in a shocked silence. The sudden silence that filled the room was eary, as I contemplated everything that just happened. By going to this meeting, I was sacrificing a lot. My life, for that matter. They needed me for something, and I doubt that it was for anything good.

So, by going, I most likely would not just sacrifice my life, but the life of hundreds others. On the other hand, Dawn would be shot if I didn't come... I placed my head in my hands, and I cried.

**10 Minutes later**

**Corporal Tallik Malace**

He was nowhere in sight. The sun had completely set at this point, and darkness covered the land. I turned to the private next to me, who wore night vision goggles underneath his gas mask.

"Anything?" I asked softly. He shook his head.

"He must have called your bluff, sir." I turned and scowled at the Private.

"Who ever said I was bluffing?" The private turned to me in surprise.

"Sir, it would be suicide to kill her!" I shrugged.

"Either way, he will desire revenge if we kill her. Which means he will come to us. Granted, he will not come willingly, but I could honestly care less at this point." At this, I shivered, pulling my jacket a little bit colder.

"I am sick of the God forsaken land! I want to go back to base. And I am going back tonight." I put a finger to my earpiece, changing to the correct frequency.

"Sniper 5, to you copy?"

"Read you loud and clear, Corporal!" I was about to give the order to shoot down the pegasus, when the private suddenly stood up.

"Sir, I have a visual!" I turned, my eyes widening a little bit. Sure enough, a lone figure was trudging through the snow. Joseph. I smiled a bit, as I changed the frequency on the earpiece again, leaving the sniper to wonder what had just happened.

"Helicopter 1, do you copy?" The voice of the pilot of the attack chopper came online at that moment.

"Read you loud and clear Malace. What do you need?" I couldn't help but smile, knowing that my plan actually worked.

"Prep the Helo for extraction. I will meet you at the rendezvous in about 5 minutes."

"Roger that, Mallace." I looked back to see Joseph continue walking forward, a grim look on his face. I turned my earpiece on again, changing to Sniper 2, who has been watching Joseph for the past 2 months.

"Is he being followed?"

"Negative. He left his house and immediately came to the extraction point. He did spend about 4 minutes in his house after your chat. But that is about it." I cut the link and turned to my 16 men, who were standing at the ready.

"Move out!" I said, and I began walking over the hill, the squad of troopers following close behind. Josephs face remained blank as we approached. It was hard to tell what he was thinking as he was surrounded by 3 of the Oberherr Elites, their weapons aimed as a precaution. As I came closer, he spoke up.

"Call off your sniper, and let Dawn live." I brought my hand up to my chin to make it look like I was thinking.

"Actually, I don't think I will." This got a reaction from Joseph, as his once calm face contorted into a sort of rage that surprised even me. He looked like he was about to charge me, but two of the Oberherr grabbed each of his arms, probably out of instinct.

"You promised you would." He snarled at me, his teeth gnashing together in pure furry. My smile remained on my face, and I tried with all my might not to show any fear.

"Did I? Did I promise to release Dawn from my eye as soon as you showed up? No, I don't think I did! Continue cooperating, and Dawn will remain unharmed. Keeping her under my thumb is only some... insurance." Joseph calmed a little, but his face was still contorted into an angry scowl. I could live with that.

"Forward!" I shouted, and our small party began walking towards the Equestrian Border.

**Dawn Blade**

Something wasn't right. I didn't know how, I could just feel it. Joseph was in danger.

"Are you alright, Dawn? You look concerned." Arrow Wing stated, looking at me with worried eyes. I shook my head.

"I don't know. I think something is happening." The wind rustled past my ears, and a cold sense came over me. A chill went down my spine, making my fur stand on end. Suddenly, a smell came over my nose. It must have traveled through the wind or something like that. It was Joseph (He smells like freshly cut grass... I don't know why). But there was something else mixed with it.

A smell of rocks.

Ashes.

And oil.

I gasped all of a sudden and began running eastward, the sense of urgency coursing through my veins.

"Dawn, where are you going?" Blast Fur, the second pegasus in my squad, yelled after me.

"To the Border!" I screamed back at him.

**Sniper 5, a few yards from Dawn Blade**

Everything happened so fast, I could barely comprehend what was happening. The red pegasus was at one point talking to one of her squad mates, and then in the next, she was running off. Towards the rendezvous point. I put my finger to my head piece, turning the mic on.

"Corporal Mallace, do you copy? We have a Code Green on our hands!" No response. I repeated the message 3 more times. I cursed to myself and looked up from my hiding spot in the tall, yellow plains grass that covered the Border region. I shuffled a little under the weight of the ghille suit and aimed my rifle, looking through the scope.

The pegasus was still in view, but was gaining distance at an incredible speed. Thinking quickly, I put a fresh clip into my sniper and aimed the barrel at the pegasus. She was gaining to much speed.

I decided to risk standing up, giving away my position. I had to take her out before she found the others. I aligned the scope, waiting for the wind to die down for me to take a good shot.

When the wind finally died, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

A thought that made my mind go into a panic.

Where were the other 2 pegasi? That was when one of the pegasi collided into me, making me fire a shot. The silenced round missed the green furred pegasi by a few centimeters, making some of its fur fall off.

But the shot didn't stop him as we tumbled to the ground, him on top of me. Before I could do anything, the pegasi lifted its front hooves, and dropped them onto my face.

**Corporal Tallik Malace**

"Sniper 5, do you copy me, over?" I said into the earpiece. He had tried to send a message to me, but the call must have failed. Now, when I could actually respond, he didn't answer. I looked around nervously, panic overcoming me. We were currently at the rendezvous point, awaiting the helicopter. But everything could change in a matter of seconds, the whole plan unraveling if they were caught.

I turned the earpiece on again, saying, "Helicopter 1, where are you?"

Static. The wind suddenly increased, making me shiver a little. Despite the cold, I began to sweat nervously. Something was going to happen. Then I saw it.

Despite the fact it was almost pitch black, I could barely make a red figure in the distance. My blood turned to ice as I realized who it was. Dawn Blade. I couldn't see the expression on her face, but judging from what she was probably seeing, she was probably furious.

At her side were 2 other pegasi, and I quickly realized that it was her squad. Joseph, who had been standing their silently staring at the ground, looked up in surprise to see Dawn.

The Elites looked up as well and, seeing the pegasi, began aiming their weapons. At that moment, I didn't know what to do. If we shot at them, then we would lose Josephs cooperation. If we didn't shoot, then the pegasi would attack.

Then, a solution emerged. Behind me, on the other side of the border, a loud whirring sound emerged.

I turned and smiled at the approaching Attack Chopper, its side doors already open. I turned back and saw Dawn, who was staring into the bright lights of the chopper with awe and terror. She quickly snapped out of it, however, and yelled loudly. Then, with a flap of her wings, she charged, her squad mates following close behind. The chopper reached the edge of the border, the co-pilot screaming at us to get in. I turned and made my decision.

"Fire at will!" I screamed to the Elites.

"No!" Joseph yelled, but it was too late. The Oberherr troopers all fired, aiming towards the pegasi. Joseph was about to run forward, when I grabbed his arm and pulled him back, shoving him into the side of the helicopter.

Nothing was going to stop me now.

**Dawn Blade**

I quickly went behind a rock as bullets from the Oberherr soldiers flew past, missing their marks. Blast Fur and Arrow Wing did the same, getting behind cover before getting hurt.

I peered out from behind my rock, looking at Joseph as the bullets continued to fly. When I looked into his eyes, time seemed to slow down. He was in the flying machine, surrounded by the Oberherr, and he looked directly at me.

He slowly shook his head and, almost like a telepathic message, I understood what he wanted. The flying machine began to take off, and Arrow Wing turned to me.

"Common, Dawn! We need to pursue." It pained me to do it, but I shook my head. A tear in my eye, I looked up to the sky at the fleeing helicopter.

"He doesn't want us to."


End file.
